RWBY OC story (Team DRGN)
by Lions'n'Tigers
Summary: This is my first story ever, about a OC team I created myself. Join team DRGN as they go through their first year at Beacon Academy alongside Team RWBY. As they continue through, they'll find their bonds getting stronger and stronger. (Note: this is all before Volume 3. I just want to keep things nice and light. Also, OC pairings are a plenty here!) CHAPTER REWORK IN PROGRESS
1. Chapter 1: Rising Dragon

**Hi everybody, welcome to my first OC story ever! After watching the most recent season of RWBY, I felt inspired to make my own story about a team I created. Join team DRGN as they go through their first year at Beacon Academy. I have recently reworked the chapter to include the introductions of each OC. Hope this should suffice.**

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Beacon Academy; a well-respected structure filled with knowledge. Those who train at Beacon are said to go on to become Huntsmen and Huntresses capable of defending mankind from the creatures known as Grimm. Every year, the airship flies all across Remnant to pick-up all the lucky students chosen to attend the prestigious academy.

The first stop that the Bullhead made was an old village in East Vale. The first applicant was a tall young man with black hair that was blue around the edges, and had dark grey eyes. He was wearing a black shirt that had a strap over it, and had a long blue and light-grey opened long coat, measuring up to his knees. He was also wearing some thick dark pants, as well as some brown shoes, and a sheath which held a long katana. He was also standing with an elderly man who was wearing an outfit similar to him.

"At last, the airship to Beacon has arrived." The blue-haired teen commented.

"Yes Ryu. I only wish the rest of the Yahto clan were here to see you off." The elderly man said sorrowfully, while placing his hand on his shoulders.

Ryu sighed. "I know, Uncle Fūjin. But even so, it is as you told me; I cannot isolate myself from the world any longer. If I am to move on with my past, I must take this opportunity to become a Huntsman from Beacon!" He stated while facing his uncle. "I promise you, once I fulfill my goal, I will reform the Yahto clan."

Fūjin Yahto smiled warmly, while hugging his nephew. "I know, my boy. But even so, I want you to promise me that you won't hold too much resentment from the past when trying to make friends."

Ryu smiled and nodded, while embracing his uncle. "I promise uncle." He replied as the two bowed to each other. Once the airship landed, Ryu Yahto boarded as it flew to its next destination.

The next destination that the Bullhead was travelling was a small village in the mountainside. A few monks and priests were gathered around a girl who had gold eyes, and she also had snow-white hair that was long and straight. She wore a white sweater with a light blue shirt underneath, a light-blue miniskirt with gold trimmings, blue small-heel shoes, and a bow on her back.

"Oh, I can't believe I'm actually going to Beacon!" The young girl squealed, feeling rather excited.

"I'm so proud of you, Gwen!" Her father, Frost Charlotteton exclaimed. "My little girl is going to become a Huntress! You've become so strong."

Gwen tightly hugged her father. "Thank you father, but it's all thanks to your training. I'm ready to show everyone what I am truly capable of!"

"I almost forgot!" As the airship circled around, Frost reached into a pocket and pulled out a small gold chain with an ice-crystal in the centre. "Here, I want to have this."

Gwen gasped. "M-mother's necklace?!"

Frost nodded. "Yes. Before she passed away, she wanted me to give you this; as a reminder to never give up your dreams and to always be brave no matter what." He explained while tightening the embrace of the father-daughter hug.

Gwen shed tears of joy. "Thank you, father! I love you..."

"I love you too, Gwen..." Frost replied back, as he and the other villagers waved goodbye to Gwen as she boarded the airship.

The final stop that the Bullhead made before Beacon was around a small street in Vale, as two boys were finishing up on breakfast. The first boy seemed to have crimson coloured hair, in the form of a G-Dragon hairstyle while having long bangs in the front. He also had brown eyes, and a thin horizontal scar on the right side of his face. The crimson hair lad was wearing a dark blue leather jacket with dragon designs on each side of the back, with a red tank top underneath, some faded blue jeans, and thin black boots. Finally, he was wearing what appeared to be dragon-shaped gauntlets on his wrists that were bronze-coloured with an emerald line on top.

The second boy had blonde spiked hair, with a black Z-bolt symbol on each side of his head. He was a green-eyed boy, who was wearing a yellow vest with a small dark yellow scarf on his chest, with a black t-shirt underneath, though the sleeves were ripped off, measuring up to his shoulders and showing off his muscles. He also wore some black pants with multiple zipper pockets, some black and yellow sneakers, and some black fingerless gloves.

"Hurry up, boys! The Bullhead will be arriving shortly!" An old female Cat Faunus called out towards them.

"So, this is it, huh?" The blonde-hair boy said to his friend while finishing up on his meal.

"That's right, Neos. This is where it all begins." The crimson haired lad replied back, as he finished packing their bags.

"I gotta admit though, I never thought I'd actually get a chance to become a Huntsman. But even so, I'm glad I get to share that dream with you, Damien."

Damien smiled as he put his arm around his best friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We've been pals since Sanctum, and I promise you; we'll get through this together."

Neos grinned back, while patting his buddy's back. "Thanks."

As the two walked towards the door, they bowed towards the homeowner. "Thank you for letting us stay the night here, Aunt Lydia!" Damien replied.

"My pleasure boys. I wish you the best of luck in your journey to becoming Huntsmen!" Lydia Maroon smiled back, while Lydia's daughter, Mindy cheerfully waved them goodbye.

As they exited the house, the airship couldn't find a landing spot, so it unraveled a ladder that the two boys had to climb up. Once they made it onboard, the ladder rolled up, and the Bullhead finally set course for Beacon.

Neos stretched his arms behind his back, while the two of them explored the large aircraft. "So... what now?"

Damien shrugged. "I dunno. I guess now we try and make some new friends."

"You mean like those two over there?" Neos remarked as he pointed at the left side where Damien was facing. Damien turned to see two girls to which the taller of the two had tackled the younger girl into a large bear-hug, while squealing; "Oh, Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees!"

The shorter of the two seemed to have short, dark hair, with shades of red at the end, as well as silver eyes. She also wore what appeared to be a black combat-skirt, as well as a red hood. The other girl was taller than the red-head, and she had long, blonde hair and lilac eyes. She wore a light brown short-sleeved jacket, with a yellow shirt underneath, as well as a light-brown miniskirt, with brown boots. Damien also noticed she has a pair of gauntlets too, only smaller and golden.

"Hmm, yeah. They look like a nice pair of people." Damien remarked as rubbed his chin with his right hand. "C'mon, let's go introduce ourselves." He starting moving towards the two girls as Neos smiled, rolled his eyes, and travelled with his partner.

"Excuse me, are you two ladies planning on attending Beacon as well?" Damien called out as he waved to the pair. The girls turned around and faced the two boys approaching.

"Yup, sure are." The blonde-haired girl replied with a smile. "I take it you guys are first-year students as well?"

"Got that right." Damien bumped his chest with his fist. "The name's Damien Crimson, and this is my good buddy, Neos Xanthos." He pointed to his pal beside him.

"What's up?" Neos waved to the duo.

"Nice to meet you both. My name is Ruby Rose." The red-haired girl said with an innocent smile on her face.

"And I'm Yang Xiao Long. The older sister to this adorable little fighter." The blonde replied as she lightly pinched the little girl's cheeks, much to Ruby's irritation.

"So, what was with that comment about her being 'the bee's knees' or something like that?" Neos questioned as he crossed his arms.

"Neos…" Damien held his hand up in an apologetic manner. "Forgive my friend, he sometimes speaks without thinking." Neos rolled his eyes. "But seriously though, most of the other students are a bit taller. What's the deal, if you don't mind me asking?" Damien asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby blushed out of embarrassment as her sister happily answered their question. "Well, if you must know, Ruby here is actually 15 years old. She was able to get accepted into Beacon two years ahead."

The boys' jaws dropped slightly, as they both regained their composure. "Are you serious? She skipped two years?!" Neos exclaimed. "That's amazing!"

"Yeah, I agree. You must have a lot of skill to have done that." Damien nodded.

Ruby's face turned an even darker shade of red from the compliments, as she tried to look away. "Thanks, but really, its fine. Like I keep trying to say, I'm just a normal girl with normal knees."

"Well Ruby, Yang. I gotta say, you two look like awesome pair. I'm glad we got to meet." Damien stated as he held out his hand.

"Thanks, you guys aren't half bad yourselves." Yang smirked as she shook Damien's hand, while they turned to the newscast being broadcasted nearby.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities." The male explained while showing his mugshot on screen. "If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."

The other newscaster spoke. "Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted..."

Before she could continue, the broadcast was interrupted when a hologram of a female professor popped up. "Hello, and welcome to Beacon!"

"Who's that?" Yang wondered.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch!" The hologram said.

"That answers that." Neos snarkered.

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." The hologram explained before disappearing.

Eventually, the four of them looked outside and beheld the view of Beacon Academy. However, the moment was ruined when a blonde boy ran to a trashcan nearby and vomited. "Yikes, poor guy..." Neos groaned.

"Must by motion sickness." Damien wondered.

Ruby looked over to Yang's shoe, and freaked out. "Aw gross Yang, you have puke on your shoe!"

"EWWWW! Nasty!" Damien shouted.

"Oh, keep away from the vest!" Neos freaked out.

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang screamed.

Meanwhile, as Ryu was reading a novel from home, he turned to see the four teens freaking out. He shook his head, while giving a small chuckle. "Well, this should certainly be something."

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 **There you go, the first chapter has been reworked. I do hope that this is an improvement over the original. I'm going to be making changes to some of the earlier chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon

**Hey everyone, welcome to the second chapter. Here, the OCs of Team DRGN will interact more with the main characters. Also, Gwen gets some more attention as well.**

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As everyone exited the aircraft, with 'Vomit Boy' running to the nearest trashcan; Ruby, Yang, Damien, and Neos all admired the scenery of the campus grounds.

"Man, the view on Vale's got nothing on this!" Neos commented, to which the four of them nodded. Meanwhile, as students were walking around, Ruby noticed the weapons that they had, and started to fan-girl all over them, much to the other three's bewilderment.

"Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" She squealed.

As Ruby started to drift away, Yang quickly pulled her back towards them, and back into reality. Damien laughed. "Wow, you sure love weapons!"

"Weapons are the coolest! They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us!" She squealed, before taking a deep breath. "So, why did you guys decide to become Huntsmen?" She asked, to which Neos stared silently, with Damien feeling nervous to explain about Neos' past.

"Um, if your friend all right?" Yang wondered.

"Well, how do I put this delicately?" Damien pondered. "Neos has a bit of a complicated past..." He was about to elaborate further, but Neos stopped him.

"Nah, it's fine, I'll explain." Neos smiled back towards them. "The thing is, I'm not really your average model citizen. I have no parents, for when I was 6 years old, they were killed during a break-in!"

"What?!" Yang was shocked when she heard that.

"In fact, growing up, I ended up becoming a rogue, fighting to survive on the outskirts of Atlas." Ruby looked concerned as the teen continued his story. "I've done things I haven't really been proud of. I'd probably be locked up in Altas Maximum Security by now."

Ruby looked shocked when she heard about Neos' past. "So, how did you end up here today?"

"When I discovered my Semblance, this was a chance for me to redeem myself. So, after working with the Atlesian Army to foil a heist by the White Fang, I was given the opportunity to become a Huntsman, so that I could protect the people that I had wronged in the past."

As the two girls stood silently, Damien stepped in. "I know what you girls may think, but I assure you; Neos is a changed human being. When we met together in Sanctum, I told him that I would always stand by his side. Since then, he's come a long way, and I promise you, he's good!"

After a brief silence, Ruby spoke up. "I believe you."

"Ruby?!" Yang yelled, surprised.

"I don't care if he was a bad person. He's in Beacon now to become a Huntsman, and I know he has what it takes to be one." Ruby said in a sweet and kind voice, while hugging him. Neos was shocked. He thought she would hate him for it, or at the very least, Yang would have beat the crap out of him. "Besides, if Damien believes you can change, then so do I!" She explained, while she turned to face Yang, who was eye-balling the ex-rogue with red eyes and flaming hair. "Y-yang?"

"What's with her?" Damien wondered.

"She gets this way when she's angry..." Ruby worriedly explained while backing away, as Yang walked towards Neos.

Damien was slightly nervous, while Neos looked back at Yang, not feeling scared at all. Eventually, Yang calmed down and giggled, with her appearance going back to normal. "Then that's good enough for me!"

Neos was surprised when he heard that. "Huh?"

"Ruby is able to see the good in people, and if she says you're fine, then I'm satisfied!" The blonde girl smiled towards Neos and Damien. "In fact, I think you boys are more than all right."

"Heh, thanks Yang. That means a lot to me." Neos replied back.

Ruby smiled before having a quick thought. "Hey, do you think the four of us could become the best of friends?"

All three of them nodded before they all gathered together in a group hug. After breaking the silence, Neos spoke up. "So, why are you girls interested in becoming Huntresses?"

Ruby answered. "Well, I wanna become a Huntress so that I could always protect those who aren't able to protect themselves, and make this world a better place!"

Damien nodded in admiration. "Remarkable. I'm sort of in the same boat too!" He turned towards Yang. "And how about you, Yang?"

Yang grinned. "Well, I'm more of a thrill seeker, I always seek out an adventure, but at the same time, I like to help out too! It's a win-win, y'know?"

Neos high-fived Yang while Damien laughed. "Wow! You sure feel confident about letting nothing stand in your way; I love that!" The crimson-haired lad gave her a devilish grin. "That's what I enjoy about becoming a Huntsman; you always get to meet many strong opponents." He waved his eyebrows towards Yang, who immediately knew where this was going.

"Ah, I see what you're getting at." Yang grinned back. "All right, Crimson; you and me, let's go!" The two of them walked over to an empty table as they decided to have an arm-wrestling match.

Neos rolled his eyes. "Oh boy, this should be interesting." He snarkered towards Ruby, who giggled in response while the two of them watched.

Meanwhile, as Gwen was walking around the campus while viewing the scenery, she bumped into a taller teen. "Hey, watch where you're going!" The boy grumbled.

Gwen apologized to the teen who was still walking away. As she continued to stroll, she realized that something was aloof. She reached towards her neck and noticed that her necklace was missing. "Oh no, my necklace! WHERE IS IT?!" She screamed frantically as she spent a full minute looking for it.

"Excuse me miss, is everything all right?" A female voice called out towards Gwen as a red-haired, emerald eye coloured girl wearing a Spartan's outfit was watching her search.

"Oh, um... Well, I'm looking for my necklace." Gwen explained, her voice shaking. "I bumped into somebody a while ago, and my necklace fell off of me, and I don't know where it is..." Her voice trembled, as she appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"Oh, that's terrible!" The gladiator replied. "Well, what does your necklace look like?"

"It's a gold chain, with a light-blue crystal in the centre." The archer explained.

The red-haired warrior pondered for a moment, before giving a warm smile. "Hmm, I think I can help you with that." She closed her eyes and raised her hand up as it started to glow. Eventually, Gwen's necklace floated out of some bushes, before it made its way to the two girls. "I believe this would be it?"

Gwen was overjoyed when she saw her necklace back. "IT IS! Oh, thank you so much!" She exclaimed as she put her necklace back on. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Gwen Charrlotteton!" She bowed.

"Pyrrha Nikos." The gladiator warmly bowed back. "So, I take it that necklace means the world to you."

"Yes, it belonged to my late mother. My father gave me her necklace as a reminder to always be brave." Gwen explained to Pyrrha. "In fact, as long as I wear it, I can feel her watching safely over me." She finished, while shedding a few tears of joy.

Pyrrha was surprised when she heard that. "I see. Well, I'm just glad you have it back!"

Gwen giggled before remembering what happened before. "Say Pyrrha, how did you do that trick with making my necklace levitate?"

"That was my semblance. It revolves around Polarity!" Pyrrha explained.

"Wow!" Gwen was amazed.

Pyrrha giggled too. "So Gwen, what's your Semblance?" She asked.

"Well, I'm no magnet expert, but I can do this!" Gwen smiled, before her hand glowed blue, and a light-blue knight which was radiating in ice appeared between them, which shocked the gladiator.

"Whoa! You can summon familiars?!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Yup! Summoning ice elementals runs in my family." Gwen giggled, as the knight disappeared.

"Well Gwen, I must say, I am impressed!" She smiled warmly as she started to walk. She stopped after a few steps before having an idea. "Say, if you'd like to walk with me, you're more than welcome to!"

Gwen smiled. "Really? Oh thank you, Pyrrha, I'd love that!" She exclaimed as the two of them continued to walk.

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 **There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next time, I will give Ryu some more treatment. Also, if it looks like I'm giving more attention to Damien and Neos, it is kind of because they are the bigger OCs of Team DRGN. Regardless, I'll try and give everyone equal attention. Also, just a small-note, the teen that Gwen bumped into before was of course, Cardin, but he's not important right now.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Shining Beacon - Part 1

**Hello again, welcome back to my story. After some more revisions, I think this chapter is definitely an improvement over the original. But hey, you guys decide for yourselves.**

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Once Ryu got off the ship, he noticed the young teen who was still retching from the airship ride. Taking pity on the boy, he decided to check on him. "Hey, are you feeling okay? He asked the boy, who faced him. The blonde boy, who had dark blue eyes, was wearing a black shirt with white armor on his arms and torso, as well as a backpack. He was also wearing some brown gloves, black shoes, light-blue jeans, and a sword attached to his belt buckle.

"Uh yeah... never better." He weakly assured the blue-haired samurai, while still clutching his stomach.

Ryu sighed before reaching into his backpack, and pulling out a few leaves as well as a pestle-and-mortar. 'Vomit-boy' looked on in confusion as Ryu grinded the leaves into a paste before dropping it into a small bottle of water. After shaking the bottle, the liquid turned dark-green. "Here, drink this." He presented the bottle over to him. "This should help with any stomach problems."

The boy examined the bottle with doubt, before eventually gulping it down. "*COUGH* *COUGH* Ugh, that tasted terrible!" He grumbled.

"Yes, but how does your stomach feel?" Ryu asked bluntly.

He was about to object, but he felt surprised. "It feels great actually!" He laughed. "Hey thanks... um?"

"Ryu Yahto." He nodded.

"Well Ryu, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it!"

Ryu raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"They will. My mom always say that – Never mind." Jaune admitted, which gave Ryu a chuckle.

"Well Jaune, now that you're feeling better, I bet you're ready to sweep all the ladies off their feet. Just remember to be confident." He looked to Ruby, Yang, Damien, and Neos, and pointed in their direction. "Over there, maybe start with them."

Jaune smiled and nodded. "Thanks Ryu. Look out world, here comes Jaune Arc!" He marched triumphantly.

Ryu rolled his eyes before continuing his stroll through campus. He wanted to look for a quiet spot to read his book. Eventually, he came across another individual who was sitting underneath a tree also reading. It was a girl who had long black hair accompanied with a black bow on top, as well as amber-coloured eyes with a bit of purple mascara. She wore a white blouse with a black vest over it, as well as black stockings that slowly become violet towards the ankles, some low-heeled black boots, and a sheath on her back. "Hey there." He spoke to the girl.

The black-haired girl looked up from her book to face Ryu. "Hello." She quietly stated.

"Would it be all right if I read alongside you?" The samurai asked.

She looked at him surprised, before a small smile formed on her. "Of course."

Ryu smirked as he sat beside her, and pulled out his book. "Thank you. I must admit, it's so hard to find a peaceful spot to read."

"Tell me about it. By the way, my name's Blake." The black-haired girl replied.

"I'm Ryu." He answered back. "So Blake, what book are you reading right now?"

Blake faced Ryu. "Well, it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

"Ah, very nice choice." Ryu nodded.

"What about you, Ryu? What's your book about?" Blake asked.

Ryu chuckled before answering. "Well, if you must know, it's about a royal who was born in a kingdom of peace but ended up being raised in another kingdom who seeks nothing but glory. The two kingdoms engaged in a bloody war, and eventually, the royal noble is forced to choose to fight alongside one of their families while having to stand against the other."

Blake was shocked when she heard such a story. "Wow, that's quite a read! I've haven't heard that book before."

"It recently hit the shelves in bookstores everywhere. There are actually different versions of the story, as to which side the noble joins." Ryu explained.

"Well, I'll have to check it out sometime." Blake giggled, as the two continued reading their novels.

Meanwhile, Yang and Damien continued their arm wrestling match, with neither one of them budging an inch. "Seriously you two, you've been at it for twenty minutes!" Ruby whined, while Neos folded his arms.

Eventually, Neos had an idea. He charged his hands with some electricity while tip-toeing towards them. He delivered a swift-shock towards the brawlers, breaking their concentration and disrupting their match. Yang and Damien glared towards Neos, while Ruby laughed out loud.

"Neos! What the hell?!" Damien yelled.

"Oh please, we all know this was never going to end!" The ex-rogue retorted.

Yang grumbled. "He's got a point y'know. If we really wanna settle this, how about a good old-fashion sparring match?" She grinned.

Damien shrugged and grinned back. "Sure thing!" They dashed off to settle their score.

Neos shook his head, while calling out towards them. "That's not what I meant!"

"W-wait! We're not supposed to be fighting on school property! Yang...!" Ruby tried to dash after her sister, but she tripped over someone's luggage.

"Ruby!" Neos exclaimed as he ran over to help the girl back up on her feet. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine, thanks." Ruby assured him.

Neos saw and picked up a bottle containing red dust, and starting tossing it up and down on his hand. "Sheesh, the nerve of some people, leaving their stuff just lying around like that!"

"What are you two doing?!" The two turned their heads around to see a girl walking angrily towards them. She had snow white hair, which was tied back into a ponytail, and light blue eyes with a faint vertical scar on her left eye. She wore a small light blue jacket over a snow-white dress with a bit of red, and a black mini-dress underneath. Finally, she was wearing some high-heeled boots, and wielded what appeared to be a rapier-revolver.

"Oh uh, I'm sorry." Ruby bowed apologetically, but the girl didn't calm down.

"You're sorry? Do you know the damage you could have done?!" She continued tearing into Ruby.

Neos was getting annoyed listening to her ranting on. "Hey lady, calm down. She said she was sorry, all right? Besides, she wouldn't have tripped if you didn't leave your crap lying around like that!"

The ice princess looked at Neos and saw the bottle he was carrying. "Hey, give me that back!" She said as she immediately snatched the bottle out of his hands. "Do you have any idea what this is? This is dust, manufactured directly from the Schnee Dust Company. It's not a toy!"

"Geez, sorry. If you have stuff like that lying around, why don't you just have your butlers carry it for you?" The boy retorted back.

"Excuse me? What exactly is that supposed to mean?!" The white-haired girl yelled, getting really fed up at this point.

"What do I mean? You have butlers right there! So that a rich snob like you shouldn't have to do all the 'menial labour!'" He mocked.

"W-What did you call me?!" She screamed. "Do you know who I am?"

Neos glared towards her. "Yeah. You're somebody who thinks that you can look down on the rest of us. Well, newsflash princess, THIS ISN'T THE STONEAGE!" He yelled back.

The ice-princess was filled with rage, and she started waving the dust bottle around, unaware that it was pouring out of the container. As the two continued to argue back and forth, some of the dust caught onto Ruby's face, which eventually caused her to sneeze right onto the heiress. Neos took cover as the dust sneeze caused an explosion of fire, ice, and lightning.

The bottle that she was carrying rolled off to where Blake and Ryu were sitting. Blake noticed the explosion as she made her way to the scene, with the dust bottle in her head.

The two looked back at the ice princess, who was now covered in soot. "Unbelievable. This is exactly what I was talking about!"

"I-I'm sorry." Ruby weakly said in her defence.

The girl continued to scold her for her actions, while Neos just tuned her out. Ruby finally lost her temper and yelled back. "I said I was sorry, princess!"

"It's heiress, actually." Blake called out towards them, while returning the bottle. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally, some recognition!" Weiss said with a smug look on her face.

"Eh, whatever." Neos scoffed, with Weiss sticking her tongue out at the boy.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Blake flatly stated.

As Ruby and Neos snickered, Weiss' anger reached her limits as she eventually stormed off with her servants following her, bringing her luggage.

"I'll make it up to you! I promise!" Ruby shouted to Weiss, but she was gone. Ruby sighed. "Well, I guess I'm not the only one having a rough day. So, what's…?" She turned to face the other direction, only to notice the other girl was gone too. She resigned and collapsed to the floor on her back. "Welcome to Beacon…" She said with very little enthusiasm.

"Hey, c'mon now. Don't get too down on yourself. These things happen." Neos comforted the red head. "Let's just head to the auditorium." He extended his hand to help her up.

Ruby smiled as he accepted his help. "Okay." She got back up from the ground.

"Hey, you guys mind if I tag along?" Yet another new voice called out between the two. This time it was Vomit-boy- I mean, Jaune. "Hi, my name's Jaune." The teen smiled.

"I'm Ruby." Ruby smiled towards him.

"Neos." He smirked back. After he joined up with them, the three started to walk again. "Wait, aren't you that guy who threw up?"

"Look, all I'm saying is that motion sickness is a more common problem than people let on." Jaune tried to explain himself.

Ruby chuckled, "I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came into my head."

"Yeah, well what if I call you 'Crater Face?'" Jaune joked back.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby tried to defend herself.

"Don't sweat it, Jaune. Besides, I heard there was this guy who hated wet bread so much, that he would gag at the mere sight of it!" Neos chortled.

After some awkward silence, Ruby spoke up holding a red case. "So, I have this thing." She pushed a button, and it transformed into a giant scythe, which she called "Crescent Rose". Neos gave an impressed whistle, while Jaune jumped back startled.

"Whoa! Is that a giant scythe?" Jaune shouted.

"Yup! It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle." She explained as Crescent Rose shifted into a rifle. Jaune had a confused look on his face when Ruby said that.

"She means it's also a gun." Neos explained as Ruby cocked her gun. "Did you make that yourself?"

"I sure did, all the students at Signal Acedemy makes their weapons, though I may have went overboard." Ruby giggled.

"Well, you really do have a hell of a talent." The spiky-haired boy remarked which caused Ruby to blush for the millionth time today.

"So, what weapons do you guys have?" Ruby asked the two boys.

"Well, I got these." Neos replied as a pair of razor-sharp claws popped out of his gloves. "I call them 'Claws of Mjolnir.' Just charge 'em up with some electricity and ZAP!'

Ruby and Jaune looked in awe as the teen retracted his claws back. Jaune showed off his equipment, which consisted of a longsword, and a big shield which was able to fold in to carry it, although it would still weigh the same.

"I know they aren't much. After all, I didn't make this myself; they were handed down to me by my great-great grandfather." Jaune looked down dejectedly.

"Aw, don't sweat it. Family heirlooms are just as awesome." Ruby comforted him.

"Yeah, besides, there's nothing wrong with the classics." Neos added.

Jaune felt a little better. Then he looked around to see where they had wondered off. "So, anybody know where we are."

Ruby looked around and sheepishly admitted, "Yeah, I was actually following Neos." They looked at the spiky-hair teen, who rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, I kinda lost track of where we were going." Neos admitted. "Hang on, I know where to go."

* * *

 **There you have it, I hope that was a good chapter. And just so you know, I'll explain the OCs weapons and semblance in a later chapter. Now then, onto the references. First off, the book Ryu was reading was indeed based off the story of Fire Emblem Fates. Secondly, the wet bread gag was referring to Gavin Free (Sorry about that, Gavin). For now, take care.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Shining Beacon - Part 2

**Hello again everyone, I've managed to try and expand on the plot of my original story with more character interactions. I hope this trumps the old version.**

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, the trio eventually made it to the auditorium just in time. Ruby and Neos noticed Yang and Damien waving towards them.

"Hey Ruby, over here." Yang called out.

"We saved you both some spots." Damien added.

"Well Jaune, it was nice talking to you, we'll see you around." Ruby waved to Jaune as she and Neos went towards their pals.

Jaune waved back to them, before he sighed. "Great. Now where am I going to find a nice and quirky girl to talk to?" He wondered to himself as he was unaware that Pyrrha was checking him out, with Gwen noticing what she was doing.

Neos and Damien fist-bumped, with Yang addressing the two. "About time you got here. So, where have you two been?" Yang wondered.

Neos shrugged. "Oh, y'know, just took a little detour. So anyways, how'd your little sparring match go?"

Yang laughed nervously as Damien quickly answered. "It ended in a draw."

"Let me guess, you guys got caught trying to fight on school grounds." Neos guessed.

"It was a draw!" The two brawlers shouted at the same time, which caused Neos to burst out laughing.

"Well, I tried to warn you." Ruby said very crossly, arms folded towards her sister.

"So, how's my little sister's first day going?" Yang teased in a nurturing way.

"You mean since you ditched me, and I exploded?" Ruby shouted in an annoyed tone.

"Yikes. Meltdown already?" Damien commented.

Neos pinched the edge of his nose and explained. "Actually, she literally exploded a hole in front of the school when she tripped over some crabby girl's luggage. Then she sneezed, and there was some fire, some ice, possibly some lightning or something."

Then, by sheer coincidence, the very same crabby girl showed up behind Ruby. "YOU!" Weiss shouted as she pointed a finger towards her.

"Oh god, it's happening again!" Ruby panicked and jumped into Yang's arms as the group faced the heiress.

"You're just lucky that we weren't blown off the other side of the cliff!"

"Oh my god, you really exploded." Yang and Damien muttered at the same time.

Weiss turned her attention towards Neos. "And you! What makes you think you can call me a 'rich snob'?!"

Damien looked shocked when he heard that. "What the- Neos! What did I tell you about being on your best behaviour?"

Neos held his arms in defense. "Dude, she was tearing into Ruby! What was I supposed to do?"

"Still, you didn't have to call her that." Damien facepalmed while Neos let out a groan.

The bickering was cut short when the headmaster, Ozpin, lightly tapped into the microphone to get everyone's attention. Ozpin was a middle aged man with grey hair, who wore small spectacles, as well as a black suit, a green scarf, black shoes, and he was holding a cane.

"I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." And with that, he stepped down from the stand.

The students started to whisper to themselves when Ozpin's second-in-command, Professor Glynda Goodwitch took the stand. She wore a white professor's shirt with a black skirt, some high-heeled black boots, a purple cape, some glasses, and was holding what appeared to be a riding crop. She had light blonde hair that was tied into a bun, and she had green eyes.

Like Ozpin, she tapped into the microphone to regain everyone's attention, before she spoke. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." She stepped down, and they both exited the auditorium.

"Ozpin seemed kinda off." Yang commented.

"Almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby added.

Jaune popped out of the corner and blurted out to Weiss. "I'm a natural blonde, y'know." That caused the heiress to facepalm.

Sometime later, after everyone settled into the ballroom late at night, almost everyone had changed into their pajamas.

As they walked down the ballroom, they passed by Ryu who was doing some mediating. Ryu had changed into a light-grey tank top with some white-and-blue shorts which measured up to his knees.

As the blue-haired samurai was continuing to find inner peace, his concentration was broken when a voice called out to him. "Um, hello."

Ryu's eyebrows twitched with annoyance, as he opened his eyes to see Gwen, wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants, staring at him. "Can I help you?" He muttered.

Gwen was a little worried when she saw him looking annoyed. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Gwen Charlotteton." She bowed.

"Ryu Yahto." He stated. "And no, it's quite alright. I was just in the middle of some meditation."

"Really? Well, would it be all right if I joined you?" Gwen asked with a faint blush, much to Ryu's surprise.

"Umm... I suppose that is alright." Ryu blushed a small amount, before smiling.

Gwen giggled and smiled before taking the same position as Ryu. Before they could resume, another loud voice stopped them. "Hey you guys, what's going on?"

Ryu sighed in defeat. "Well, so much for that..." The two turned to see an excited-orange haired girl facing them.

"Nora, you know it's not nice to interrupt others when they're meditating." Another voice called, as a boy with long-black hair that had a magenta streak approached them.

Nora giggled. "Sorry Ren."

Ren nodded and faced the two. "Forgive my friend, she's just really excited to be here."

Ryu smiled back and nodded. "That's okay. I think everyone's filled with joy for tomorrow."

"That's true. By the way, I'm Lie Ren." Ren stuck his hand out, as Ryu shook it. "And this here is Nora Valkyrie."

"Hi-ya!" Nora cheered.

"I'm Gwen Charlotteton, and that's Ryu Yahto." Gwen introduced them, while the four engaged in a conversation.

Meanwhile, after Yang had changed, she made her way towards her sister. Ruby had a sleep mask on her head, while wearing a brown tank top with a heart-shaped monster, and white pants with pink rose decorations. Yang was wearing a small orange tank top with a flame symbol on the centre, and black boy shorts.

"It's like a big sleepover!" Yang cheered as she landed on the sleeping bag next to Ruby.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys though." Ruby muttered, while busy writing a letter.

"I know I do!" Yang smiled flirtatiously while she scanned the room and purred at all of the shirtless muscular boys. However, she instantly started to fawn over Damien and Neos when the two of them made their way towards them. Damien changed into some black and red boxer shorts with his red tank top still on. Neos was wearing a black vest, but no shirt underneath, thus exposing his abs. He was also wearing some black pants with a yellow stripe going down on each side. "Oh baby..."

"Ladies..." Neos greeted the two sisters, which caused Ruby to giggle, while Yang was still drooling over the two of them.

Damien also examined Yang, causing his face to turn red, before getting back under control. "So Ruby, what are you up to right now?"

"Oh, just writing a letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going." Ruby explained.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Yang teased, earning her a pillow to the face.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" Ruby grumbled.

Damien smirked. "That's not true! I'm your friend."

"And you got me... If it's worth anything..." Neos shrugged.

"And what about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus three friends! That's a three-hundred percent increase!" Yang smiled.

"Unless you include Weiss, which probably counts as a negative friend, which pretty much drops the friend count by one." Ruby muttered.

"There's no such things as negative friends! You just made three friends and one enemy!" Yang joked, causing Ruby to throw another pillow to her face.

Damien gave a nervous laugh, before speaking. "Besides, I'm sure she'll come around… eventually."

Neos sighed. "I guess."

Damien turned to face them directly. "Look you two, it's only been the first day. There's plenty of other people to meet and make friends with. Trust me." He explained, to which Yang smiled and nodded in agreement.

After Ruby heard him, she sat up and faced the black haired girl from earlier. She was wearing what appeared to be a black yukata, with a hint of grey and white. She was also reading the same book from earlier by candlelight. "That girl."

Yang turned to see who she was referring to. "You know her?"

Neos nodded. "Yup, she was there when Ruby and I were being lectured by the ice princess. She gave her a hell of a diss." he chuckled, causing Yang to chortle while Damien rolled his eyes, pretending to ignore that. "She left before we could even tell her our names."

Just then, Yang got an idea. "Well, here's your chance!" Yang declared, dragging Ruby by the arm.

"Yang! What are you doing?!" Ruby struggled to no avail, while Damien and Neos faced each other.

"Geez, is this how sibling relationships usually are?" Damien wondered.

"I don't know Damien. I do not know." Neos shrugged, as the two decided to follow.

"Hello~" Yang called out to Blake in a singing voice.

"I believe the three of you have already met." Damien motioned.

The girl looked at Ruby with the same facial expression. "Aren't you the girl who exploded?"

Yup, that's me, Ruby. But, you can call me Crater face… Actually, you can call me Ruby." Ruby blurted out nervously.

"Okay." The girl said, clearly uninterested.

Yang pulled her in, and whispered to her, "What are you doing?"

I don't know, help me!" She spoke back.

Damien, seeing Ruby's plight, took pity and decided to help her out. "So anyways, what's your name?"

"Blake." The girl flat out stated in an irate tone.

"Well Blake, my name's Damien." He nudged his buddy's shoulders.

"Neos." He complied.

"And I'm Ruby's older sister, Yang. I… like your bow. It goes great with your pajamas."

"Thanks." Blake spoke in the same uninterested tone from before.

"So, nice night we're having, right?" Damien asked, hoping to make small talk.

"Yes, it's lovely; almost as lovely as this book." Blake said, as the four stood there. "That I will continue to read." They were still standing. "As soon as you leave." She narrowed her eyes back to her book.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang exasperated.

"Come now. No need to give up hope yet." Damien reassured her.

Suddenly, Neos decided to speak up. "So, what exactly is it about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Pardon?" Blake looked up, surprised.

"Your book? Does it have a name?" Ruby added, curious as well.

Blake was caught off guard with those questions, but she answered, "Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

Yang replied sarcastically, "Yeah, real lovely."

Neos spoke up again as he closed his eyes, "That's real deep. I once read a book about two people who had a forbidden love for each other. Though their families were feuding at the time, they risked everything to be with each other; even if it meant dying in their arms…" Neos opened his eyes and noticed everyone staring at him. "What?" He bluntly asked, his cheeks red from embarrassment.

Ruby then spoke up, "I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters. They're one of the reasons I wanted to be a Huntress."

"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake wondered, giving a bit of a smile.

Ruby continued smiling as she explained, "Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves."

"That's... very ambitious for a child." Blake's smile turned into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"Well, that's why we're here; to make the world a better place." Ruby stated with the same innocent smile.

"Aww, that's my baby sister." Yang teased as she playfully hugs Ruby upward.

"Yang, cut it out!" Ruby grumbled, getting annoyed. Eventually, the two sisters tussled, which eventually ended with Ruby holding Yang's leg and tickling her foot.

Neos, who was listening intently, added his two cent in, "She's got a point y'know. We can't always depend on the adults to do all the work for us. If we want something done, we gotta take it upon ourselves to do it."

Damien smiled like an older brother as he wrapped his arm around Neos in a headlock, "See? I knew you could do it." He started to give him a noogie.

"Hey, watch the hair!" The ex-rogue fought back.

Blake gave a bit of a small laugh as she did enjoy the group's visit. "Well everyone, it's a pleasure to-"

"What in the world is going on here?!" A familiar voice shouted towards the five. They turned to see an angry Weiss, who was wearing a light blue night gown. She was not pleased with having her beauty sleep interrupted with everyone's tomfoolery. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

As everyone faced the heiress, Weiss, Yang, and Damien shouted simultaneously, "Not you again!"

"Shh. Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep." Ruby quickly said, hoping to avoid more conflict, but Weiss was still miffed from the incident this morning.

"Oh, now you're on my side?" Weiss faced Ruby.

Ruby tried to defend herself, "I was always on your side!"

Yang chimed in to help out her sister. "What's your deal, she's only trying to be nice!"

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss whined, arms tensed.

Neos tried to defuse the situation, "Okay, let's all just calm down."

Weiss turned to face the boy, "You have no right to tell me what to do!"

Damien butted into the conversation too, "Hey, back off! He's just being polite."

"He's not even close to being a gentleman!" Weiss said in the same angered tone.

Blake, who grew tired of the group's argument, reached for the candle, and blew out the flame, causing the room to go dark. And that was the end of that.

* * *

 **There you have it folks. Now that introductions are out of the way, the next few chapters will definitely include some fighting, so stay tuned for that. By the way, in case you couldn't tell, the book Neos was referring to was "Romeo and Juliet." I will try and include some more character interactions between OCs, as suggested in a review by Chartate101.**


	5. Chapter 5: Initiation - Part 1

**Hello everybody, this is the combat chapter everyone's expecting. I decided to expand the plot of my original version of the story, so hopefully, it's a little more filling.**

* * *

The morning sun shined brightly through the ballroom, as it meant that today was the day everyone was waiting for: Initiation Day. While half of the room has already woken up, some were still sleeping away. Damien was already dressed up, doing some stretches. He noticed his pal still asleep with the pillow on top of his head.

He removed the pillow off his head and nudged him. "Wakey-Wakey, time to get up!" Damien said in a playful voice.

"Ngh, five more minutes, Mommy…" Neos mumbled as he covered his head with the blanket.

"C'mon now, no snoozing." Damien replied as he lifted his sheets off of him. He then tip-toed over to where Ruby and Yang were sleeping and gently nudged them. "Rise and shine, girls. We got a big day ahead of us."

Ruby groaned while Yang lifted her head to see the time. "Damien, the initiation isn't until three hours from now." She groggily replied while fixing her hair.

"Yeah, but even so, I thought we could squeeze in some early training beforehand. Let's go!" Damien was too excited to stand still, as he had been waiting for this day.

Yang's head plopped back onto her pillow, while Neos rose out of bed, rubbing his eyes. "Yup, classic Damien. Always an early go-getter." He yawned as he knew going back to Slumberland wouldn't be possible with him around.

While in the bathroom, Neos was combing his hair. "Who's got the best hair? This guy does!" He winked to himself in the mirror.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but it's me!" Damien grinned while applying gel to his head.

Neos glared towards his friend, who stared right back. "Oh yeah? You wanna go, Crimson?" He got into a fighting stance.

"Bring it, Xanthos!" Damien cracked his knuckles.

Before they could tussle, Yang interjected between them. "Fellas, fellas! Let's not get too worked up here. You both got great hair." She said, calming them both down. "But my hair's obviously the best!" She smirked.

Damien, Neos, and Yang all glared towards each other before they all broke out in a large fit of laughter. One hour later, after everyone else finished packing up their sleeping gear, changing into their everyday outfits, and eating their breakfast, the four of them started heading towards their weapon lockers. It was by sheer coincidence that their lockers were all right next to each other.

As they went to retrieve their weapons, Neos decided to break the silence. "So, I heard there might be a chance that we'll be put on teams." He said after putting on his gloves with the claws still inside.

Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose out of her locker and cheerfully replied, "Well, I'm not too worried. As long as I got Crescent Rose by my side, I'll be just fine." She started stroking the scythe.

Yang laughed as she tussled her sister's hair, "Now Ruby, if you wanna grow up, you gotta start making more friends, and learn to work together." She put on her shotgun gauntlets, Ember Celica, after finishing her sentence.

"Ugh, you sound just like Dad! For the record, I don't need people to tell me to grow up. I drink milk!"

Damien laughed as he retrieve his weapons from his locker. "Easy there, Ruby. I think what Yang means is that it's probably a good idea to get to learn about communication. Besides, even if we don't end up on the same team, it's still wise to learn more about your future teammates. After all, teamwork is essential for any good team." He was aware that Neos was flapping his hand behind his back, which caused Ruby to giggle.

"So, are you guys going to be partners?" Ruby asked out of curiousity.

Neos shrugged as he put his hands behind his shoulders. "Eh maybe. Y'know, assuming he doesn't get in my way!" He joked.

"Say again? I couldn't quite hear you." Damien calmly replied with a death glare to his pal, causing Ruby and Yang to giggle.

Damien finished putting on his dragon-shaped gauntlets to his wrists, which he dubbed "Twin Dragon Fangs." Afterwards, they made a small growling noise, eyes glowing for a brief second, and caused a small huff of smoke to puff from the nostrils. Ruby stared in awe at his weapons, while Yang gave an impressed smirk. "Okay so, we're gonna start heading out now. We'll meet you two out on the fields!" Damien stated as he and Neos started to walk towards the exit.

Yang called out, "All right, we'll see you there." The two girls smiled and waved towards the two as they waved back. Neos gave Ruby a little wink, causing the red headed girl to blush and quickly hide her face. The blonde girl saw this and promptly called her out. "Aww, someone has a crush!" Yang teased in a singing voice.

"Shut up! I don't not!" Ruby tried to deny, her red getting redder by the minute. "It's just, I know Neos looks like a rough guy, but he's really, really nice. I've never really felt that way towards a boy before, but I think me and him can become really close friends." Ruby admitted as she closed her eyes and smiled, facing towards the ground.

Yang took great joy in causing her sister unrest as she continued to sing, "Aww, that's so cute. Ruby's got a boyfriend! Ruby's got a boyfriend!"

"Oh yeah? Well, what about you and Damien, huh?" Ruby fired back, causing Yang to blush as well.

"Well, that's totally justified, because… we're friendly rivals, that's all." Yang reasoned with a smirking Ruby. "He's strong, I'm strong. It's completely normal."

Ruby gave her a cocky look. "Puh-lease, you guys totally have a lot in common. I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you ending up dating by the end of the school year." She starting running off.

"That's not true at all. I like Damien completely as a friend! Ruby!" The blonde boxer chased after her sister, but she was too fast.

Meanwhile, Damien and Neos continued walking through the locker room, when Damien starting talking. "I saw how you winked towards Ruby. I didn't know you had a thing for her."

Neos stopped in his tracks, with his cheeks red. "Oh… uh, that. That was a reassuring wink. To make sure she stays safe." Damien folded his arms and raised an eyebrow towards him. "I'm just looking out for her. Y'know, like a baker watching over his… cookies." The spiky-haired teen flustered.

"Uh-huh, sure. I bet you think she's so sweet, don't you?" Damien chuckled.

"Okay, smart-ass, then tell me you don't have the hots for Yang?" Neos retorted, causing his pal to stop laughing, and become speechless.

"Uhhhhhh…." That was all Damien could say, his face heating up too.

"I thought so, tough guy." Neos smirked as they continued to walk.

"Come on now, it's not like that. Yang's a hell of a fighter, that's all." Damien tried to push off.

"Sure, or maybe, you like a girl with flare." The ex-rogue joked towards his flustered crimson haired pal.

Damien stuttered. "Ngh- Come on, man! You're being-"

"Ridiculous!" The two boys heard Jaune trying to open a locker. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"

Meanwhile, Weiss and Pyrrha were conversing about the upcoming test, to which the heiress asked something. "So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!"

"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." The gladiator replied.

Weiss decided to propose her idea. "Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together." She stated, to which Pyrrha had no objections.

"Well, that sounds grand!" She smiled.

"Um, is there room in your alliance for one more?" The two girls turned around to see Gwen standing nearby.

"Oh hello Gwen!" Pyrrha warmly waved to the archer. "I hope you're ready for initiation today."

Gwen smiled back. "I sure am, Pyrrha! I've been training for this day, and I know that I am more than ready." She turned her attention towards Weiss. "Oh, hello there. My name is Gwen Charlotteton, it's a honour to meet you." She bowed to the heiress.

"Weiss Schnee." Weiss nodded. "And how exactly do you know Pyrrha?"

"Well, she helped me find my lost necklace yesterday, and afterwards, we've become quite close." Gwen explained. "Anyways, I was wondering if you two plan to team up together, could I join?"

Weiss was skeptical of her. "I don't know. What exactly do you have to offer?"

Gwen trembled a smidge amount, but she stood her ground. "I'll have you know that I have been training under my father's eye for a long time, and I won't let anyone say otherwise. I know that I can do this!"

The heiress was surprised as the little outburst, but Pyrrha put in a good word for her. "It's true, Weiss. I saw Gwen's semblance first-hand, and it's quite powerful."

"Hmm, I suppose an alliance between the three of us could work." Weiss conceded, to an overjoyed Gwen.

"You know what'd be even better? An alliance with me!" The three saw Jaune butting in. "Jaune Arc. Pleased to make your acquaintance, ladies." He waved his eyebrows toward Weiss.

While the bonding was continuing on in the opposite side, Ryu was busy looking at his blade, while deep in thought. "Father, brothers, I hope you're watching me right now; I will not fail this day." His inner focus was interrupted when he heard Jaune crashing into a locker.

"I'm sorry!" Jaune heard Pyrrha calling towards him.

Ryu looked towards Jaune, before speaking. "I'm not even going to begin to ask what that was..." The samurai spoke, as he helped the knight up.

"Thanks..." Jaune mumbled, while Ruby and Yang approached.

"Having some trouble there, lady-killer?" Yang commented.

Jaune wondered out loud. "I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?"

The blonde boxer replied. "Maybe snow-angel wasn't the best start." She turned towards Ryu. "Oh, I'm sorry, I believe I didn't get to know you."

Ryu nodded. "Ryu Yahto. And from my observations, you two are Ruby and Yang?"

"Yup, that's us!" Ruby nodded, while looking at his katana. "And is THAT your weapon?!"

The samurai glanced at his blade, before confirming. "Yes, this is the Yahto Blade - a weapon passed down from my family through many generations. I would show you its potential, but perhaps we should wait until initiation."

Eventually, time passed on, and it was time for the initiation. All the participants lined up, with each student standing on a launch tile. Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin were facing the students, with Ozpin holding a coffee mug, and Goodwitch holding a digital tablet.

Ozpin broke the silence and spoke up. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Then Professor Goodwitch chimed in. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

Damien thought for a moment what she meant by 'today' before realizing it.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin clarified to anyone else who had trouble understanding.

Neos, who was standing beside Damien, pointed between the two of them, offering a possible alliance. Damien nodded in return.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin continued, which caused Ruby to scream out loud.

Ozpin resumed to finish explaining the rules for the test. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune was the only one who had questions, and as he kept asking, students started being launched from the pad. Neos bent down on his right knee with his arms spread out, and Damien straightened his arms and body as they were launched from the pads.

As Damien soared through the sky, he saw the Emerald Forest below him. Once he found an empty spot, he did a quick mid-air somersault, and dove quickly towards the ground, slamming his fist and causing a small tremor. "Whoo! That was awesome!" He whooped. He saw Neos soaring through the sky, and as he approached a tree, he lined up his legs, and launched himself off the trunk, landing towards Damien.

"Hey partner, how's it going?" Damien smirked after watching his pal stick the landing.

Neos glanced directly towards his partner and exclaimed. "Let's go again!"

Damien rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Well, I guess we should start searching for the relics. I wonder where we should start." Before he could continue pondering, they heard a loud screech, as they looked to see a pair of Nevermore flying towards them.

"Hmm, does that answer your question?" Neos replied sarcastically, pointing to the big raven-like creatures. "So Damien, just like Sanctum?" He grinned as he extended his claws from his gloves.

"Oh yeah." The crimson haired lad replied with a joyous laugh as he twisted a knob on his gauntlets, causing the dragons' mouths to open up, revealing a small hose-like nozzle. "I'll take the one of the left, you get the other." His partner nodded as they both jumped out of the way to avoid a Nevermore soaring towards them.

Damien shot a couple of fireballs towards one of the Nevermore, which tried to dodge most of them. It was hit by a few fireballs, one of them scoring a hit on its face. As the Nevermore continued to fly towards its prey, Damien turned the knobs towards the right, and shot a stream of fire from his gauntlets at his target. The Nevermore circles around, avoiding the flames being shot at it, and begin its descent to kill. Damien closed his eyes, and focused his strength, and as the creature swooped in beak first, Damien performed a backflip, and delivered a kick directly in the bottom of its jaw, sending it flying upwards.

Meanwhile, Neos was dealing with the other Nevermore on his side, where he ran towards the beast, and slashed towards its belly, dealing some damage. The second Nevermore tried to grab the clawed fighter with its talons, but Neos grabbed the creature, and delivered an electric shock towards it with his voltage claws, causing the Nevermore to fall back, temporarily stunned. Neos took a step back, and leaped forward, spinning like a drill towards the giant raven. As he gained speed, he pushed the creature towards a tree, his razors impaled through the Nevermore's belly. He lifted his right hand towards the sky, calling down a bolt of lightning, which was attracted to his claws, but he was immune to it. Finally, he was able to redirect the lightning towards the Nevermore, and as the jolt of electricity coursed through the creature's body, causing it to explode.

The first Nevermore staggered with its fight against Damien, and let out a giant screech. Damien signalled towards Neos, and Neos nodded as he started to crouch down. Damien leaped off from his partner's shoulders, and soared high above the beast, delivering an axe-kick on its head which sent it crashing towards the ground. Damien landed on the Nevermore's back, as he charged his fist, which was suddenly coated in flames. He delivered a powerful punch directly into the Nevermore's skull, shattering its bone-like helmet, and created a big shockwave in the ground. The now headless Nevermore laid there, until it eventually vanished into nothing. Damien raised his fist from the remains, and flicked the dirt off from his hand.

"Well, that was easy." Neos joked, as the two set their weapons to a dormant mode, and high-fived each other. "So, I guess we keep heading north to find the relics."

"Pretty much." Damien replied as they headed north.

Meanwhile, nearby, Yang was busy laying the beat down onto an Ursa, who apparently cut off a strand of her hair, causing her to go ballistic and sending it flying through several trees. The second Ursa was about to fight the blonde brawler, when Blake showed up and impaled the beast with her weapon, Gambol Shroud. As the black haired youth sheathed her weapon, she locked her amber eyes with Yang's now lilac eyes, symbolising their partnership together.

"I could have beaten the other Ursa myself." Yang joked, which Blake gave a light chuckle. Suddenly, Yang held her arm out to stop Blake. "Shh, I think I heard something move over there." Yang commented as she pointed towards the inside of the forest.

Unbeknownst to the two girls, Damien and Neos were walking in that same direction when they heard the rustling from their battle dying down. "Did you hear that? I think there's a Grimm over to the right. It might attack us at any moment, so let's prepare to ambush it!" Damien motioned to his partner as they hid inside a bush.

"There! Did you see that? Something's lurking in those bushes, planning to jump out at any moment." Yang remarked as she directed Blake's attention to the moving bush. "Well, I'm sure as hell not gonna take this!" She charged up Ember Celica and took a fighting stance. "On the count of three, I'll run towards the bush, and drive out whatever's in there. When I do, I want you to deliver the finishing blow to it, understand Blake?

Blake nodded in agreement as she drew out Gambol Shroud again, wielding the blade in one hand, and the sheath doubling as a cleaver in the other.

At the same time, Damien was going over his battle plan with Neos. "I'll rush out and distract whatever the hell's out there, and you take it down. Sound good?" He asked as he opened up the Twin Dragon Fangs.

"Damn right." Neos confirmed, extending the Claws of Mjolnir.

"Three… Two… One!" Yang and Damien both counted down as they ran towards each other, fists in the air.

"What the—Damien?!" Blake shouted.

"Blake?" Damien shouted back, recognizing the voice.

"Yang?!" Neos poked his head out of the bushes.

"Neos?!" Yang saw the familiar figure.

Both fighters stopped dead in their tracks, their fists inches away from each other's faces. Damien broke the silence. "So, what's up?" He gave a small smile.

Yang smirked and replied back, "Oh, you know, just kicking Grimm butt. You?"

"Same."

"Hey Blake, how's it going?" Neos asked, not wanting things to be awkward.

"I'm fine, thanks." Blake stated.

After sorting things out, the four decided to head out to find the shrine together. "Anyways, what was with all the ruckus back there?" Neos wondered.

"Well, if you must know, I was teaching a pair of Ursai a lesson to never mess with the hair!" Yang gritted, before stroking her own hair.

Damien sympathized with the blonde. "I know exactly how you feel. If someone messed with my hair, they would just be a charred reminder of what's left of them!" He clenched his fist and shook it.

Yang laughed and put her arm around his shoulder. "Thank you! Someone finally gets it!"

Neos asked. "Hey, any idea where Ruby is? I thought you two were standing next to each other when we got launched."

"The thing is, I'm not really sure. We sorta got separated, and I can't seem to find her at all." Yang admitted.

"Well, I really hope Ruby arrives safe and sound." Blake voiced her concern, sounding a little worried for her sake.

"Don't worry, I'm certain she'll be fine. After all, she's one tough cookie." Damien assured, putting his arm around Yang's shoulder, pulling her close to him. Yang felt a small blush, but she smiled and decided to rest her head onto Damien's shoulder. Damien noticed this and blushed too, but he didn't mind. He smiled as he tilted his head towards Yang's.

Blake and Neos saw the show of affection that was happening in front of them, but they didn't say anything. They faced each other and smiled, as they decided to let them have their moment. The four then proceeded with their journey.

* * *

 **There you go. If you wanna see the conclusion, stay tuned for the next two chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6: Initiation - Part 2

**Hey everyone, I'm back with the next chapter of my story. It's time to see how the rest of the cast are faring.**

* * *

 **30 minutes ago, right after the launching sequence…**

Gwen was flying through the air, when she saw the forest approaching. She waved her right hand towards the ground, conjuring up a giant light-blue hand which caught the girl. The hand gently carried her towards the ground, where she dismounted off it before disappearing. Gwen was a little scared, since she couldn't really find anybody. "Hello? Anybody here?" She called out, to no avail.

Suddenly, a giant Ursa appeared out from the woods, and was making its way towards the girl. Gwen felt scared, but then she clutched her mother's necklace, giving her a burst of courage. She then drew out her weapon; the IceBorne Bow, and traced a blue line between the edges, creating a bowstring. The Ursa was still charging towards Gwen, but she leapt back and shot a few ice arrows towards the ground, encasing the ground in ice and causing the beast to slip and fall. She then detached her bow into a pair of twin curved blades and slashed towards the Ursa, landing a few good hits before reattaching the bow again.

At the same time, in a nearby section of the forest, Ryu had just finished slicing several Beowolves in half. Once the corpses vanished, he could hear some rustling going on. He witnessed Gwen's battle with the Ursa from the depths of the Ursa got back up, and continued to attack Gwen ferociously. Gwen stood back, and channeled her right hand, which started to glow in a faint light-blue light. After a few seconds, she summoned an ice-elemental knight, which charged straight through the beast. The knight landed lots of strong hits, each trapping the Ursa in ice. Once the Ursa was unable to move, the knight delivered a fatal slash towards the beast, destroying the ice and splitting in in half, with Ryu impressed with her skills.

"Phew! That was a close one." Gwen sighed, before continuing her search, only to be ambushed by a large Beowolf. Gwen was about to counter-attack with her ice elemental on standby. However, as she stepped back, she tripped on a tree root, causing her to fall to the ground, with her familiar vanishing. The Beowolf lunged towards her, while all Gwen could do was cower in defeat.

Then, in the bushes directly behind her, a strong wind wave shot out, knocking the creature back from her. Then, leaping straight out of the bushes, Ryu dashed straight toward the beowolf; delivering several swift fatal slashes with his katana, before splitting it in half down the middle.

Ryu stood there, not facing Gwen. "You all right?" He asked as he sheathed his Yahto Blade.

"Yes. Thank you, Ryu." Gwen thanked him, as she put away her IceBorne Bow.

"You need to watch your surroundings. You would have gotten yourself killed." The swordsman lectured in a stern voice.

Gwen admitted. "You're right, I'm so sorry." She sadly mumbled, looking down.

"No need to despair. You just be more careful from now on." Ryu explained.

"No, it's just. I can't believe I almost gotten myself killed because of that." Gwen shouted. "I wanted to show everyone that I wasn't a weak little girl. I feel so useless!"

Ryu turned around in surprise. "Hey! Do not sell yourself short." He shouted towards the archer. "I saw how you summoned that ice knight back there, and I can tell you with 100% certainty that you are far beyond useless!"

Gwen was shocked when she heard what she was saying. "Ryu..."

"Listen, we all make mistakes. It's a part of life, but what matters is that we learn from this." Ryu explained. "I hope you understand what I'm saying Gwen."

Gwen listened carefully, as she smiled, with a few tears in her eyes. "Yes, thank you." She thought for a moment. "Say Ryu, if you haven't found a partner, would you be mine?"

Ryu thought for a moment, before answering. "Very well." Ryu finally spoke. "If that is what you truly want, then I will be your partner." He turned to look at Gwen's golden eyes with his grey eyes, thus creating the partnership.

Gwen looked up to him with a smile on her face, as she wiped off the tears on her face. "Really? Oh, thank you so much!"

Ryu started walking towards Gwen and helped her back up on her feet. She sprained her ankle when she fell, but her aura healed it back up. "It looks like you can still walk. Just stay close by me." Ryu said with a small smile on his face.

"I will. Thank you." Gwen replied back as the two started walking, when they heard a strange animal sound to their side. "What was that? A sloth?"

"I don't think that's what a sloth sounds like." Ryu answered. "Hello? Anyone there?"

Two students emerged from the woods. It was Ren who wielded a pair of dark green bladed SMGs, dubbed "Stormflower," and Nora, who wielded a big hammer/grenade launcher, which she called "Magnhild."

"Ryu and Gwen! Hi!" The orange haired girl cheered.

"Hello Nora! Are you and Ren still searching for the relics?" Gwen asked with a smile.

"Sure are. Shall we continue our search together?" Ren casually asked the two.

"Certainly." Ryu nodded.

As they continued their walk, Nora explained how Ren single-handedly bested a King Taijitu Grimm. Suddenly, the four encountered a big Ursa right in front of them.

Just then, Nora hatched a bold idea. "Hey, I bet I can ride this thing all the way to the shrine!" She said with a devilish grin.

The other three stood surprised at what they had heard. Surely, she wasn't serious in actually riding a feral creature such as that, was she?

But then, she got on the Ursa, and started riding it like a bull. The Ursa tried shaking the girl off, but to no avail. "Wheeeeeeee! This is so much fun!" Nora was having the time of her life, as the beast ran through the forest.

Ryu, Gwen, and Ren just stood, shocked at what had transpired. "Has she always been this reckless?" Ryu questioned, eyes closed and arms crossed.

"You'd be surprised by the amount of stunts she's performed in the past." Ren simply stated, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. The three decided to chase after Nora, to make sure she didn't endanger herself, or anyone around her for that manner.

 **Back to the Present Time…**

Blake, Neos, Damien, and Yang continued their search through the Emerald Forest, to find the shrine. After a few minutes, they eventually find a run-down temple, with black and gold chess pieces resting on pedestals. Some pieces were already taken, meaning that several students have already arrived first.

"So, you think this is it?" Damien wondered out loud as the group approached the place.

"Chess pieces?" Blake asked with a confused look on her face.

"Some of them are missing. I guess we aren't the first ones here." Yang commented.

"All right, well let's just each take one then." Neos stated. "Ladies first." He said as he led the way.

Yang rolled her eyes as she examined the pieces, before picking up a golden knight piece. "How about this cute little pony?"

"Sure." Blake smirked as she walked towards her partner.

"Okay then, I'll choose this one then." Damien commented as made his way, to pick up a golden bishop piece. "Piece of cake.

"Booyah! You da man!" Neos celebrated.

"Nah, you da man!" Damien yelled back as they bro-fisted each other and started dancing.

Yang laughed as the bromance got real. She turned towards Blake and smirked. "That wasn't too hard."

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." Blake mentioned as she smiled back.

The celebration was cut short when they heard a very effeminate scream, coming deep within the forest. "Did you hear that? Some girl's in trouble!" Yang assumed. She turned to her partner. "What should we do, Blake?"

However, Blake was distracted with what was going on in the sky. The others turned to see what she was facing, when they saw Ruby plummeting from the sky.

"Head's up!" Ruby screamed as she flailed her arms helplessly.

"Ruby!" Neos shouted as he stepped back to signal Damien about an idea. The ex-rogue sprinted towards his pal, who grabbed his arm and flung him all the way towards her. "I gotcha!" He caught Ruby as he landed several feet away from the shrine. "You all right, kiddo?" He smiled, staring towards the red head he was holding bridal-style in his arms.

Ruby smiled widely as she tightened her arms around the boy's body. "Yeah, thank you, Neos." She buried her head towards his chest.

Neos felt his cheeks heating up, but he didn't care. He happily carried Ruby back to the group. As they moved, they saw Jaune sailing several yards through the sky, landing in a nearby tree.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Yang breathed out. "How did you guys co-ordinate that?!"

Damien smirked. "Years of practice!"

"Well, I really appreciate what you did for my sister. Thank you both so much!" She hugged him, burying her head in his shoulder, while he gladly embraced back.

Blake looked at the tree and then back at the sky, still in shock. "Did your sister just fall out of the sky?" Blake asked, with Yang being unable to answer.

Then they heard more crashing sounds, as Nora was still riding the Ursa from before, still having fun before her hammer shot its back, causing the beast to drop forward, dead. "Aww, it's broken." Nora booed before dismounting.

Ryu, Gwen, and Ren caught up to the dead Ursa, all exhausted from running so much. "Nora… Please, don't ever do that again." Ren panted, not having enough energy to form words. Ryu tapped his shoulder to get his attention that Nora had disappeared again. The three frantically searched for the bubbly girl.

Nora ran up to the shrine when she saw a golden rook piece. She picked it up and started singing. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

"Nora!" Ren shouted, getting her attention.

Nora giggled as she brought the rook back to her partner. "Coming Ren!"

"Look, there's the shrine." Gwen said, as she ran to pick up a second golden bishop piece.

"Good work, Gwen." Ryu smiled at the white-haired archer.

Damien, Yang, and Blake stood there, shocked at what they had saw.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Damien wondered, with Yang still being unable to answer.

They were interrupted yet again, when they heard a screech from their right. They turned to see Pyrrha, who was still holding her weapon and shield, Miló and Akoúo̱, running away with a Death Stalker chasing right after her.

"Pyrrha!" The blonde knight called out to her partner.

"Jaune!" The red haired gladiator called back in response.

"Whoa!" Ruby and Neos both blurted out simultaneously, as he picked up the pace.

"Ruby! Neos!" Jaune whined, still stuck on the tree.

Eventually, the two made it back to their group, as Neos set Ruby down. As they joined up, everyone called out each other's names as they were prepared to embrace one another.

"Ruby!" "Yang!" "Neos!" "Damien!"

Then Nora popped in between the four, spoiling the moment. "Nora!" She cheered.

The giant scorpion Grimm continued to chase Pyrrha.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Neos wondered.

Yang got fed up at this point with all the interruptions and exploded in a small burst of flames, eyes glowing red. "I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

Exactly two seconds later, Ryu, Gwen, and Ren joined up with the group, with Nora looking like she was going to burst out of excitement. Ruby tapped her sister's shoulder and pointed upwards. Yang calmed down, eyes reverting to normal colour, and looked to where she pointing.

The group saw Weiss hanging onto dear life, on a talon of a gigantic Nevermore. "How could you just leave me up here?!" Weiss shouted to her partner.

"I told you to jump!" Ruby shouted back.

"She's gonna fall." Blake simply stated.

"She'll be fine." Ruby quickly assured her.

"She's falling." Ren said bluntly.

"*Sigh* I'll get her." Neos was prepared to catch her, but Ryu stopped him.

"No need." He pointed out, as Jaune finally got up from the tree, and walked towards the edge of the branch.

As Weiss lost her grip from the Nevermore's talon and starting falling, Jaune leaped off the branch, catching the heiress in his arms. "Just dropping in." He said with a smile on his face.

Weiss was left speechless as she held onto Jaune, but then they looked down as they plummeted toward the ground. Jaune faceplanted into the dirt, with Crocea Mors hanging on his side, as Weiss dropped onto his back in a normal sitting position while checking her nails. "My hero." She said sarcastically.

"My back." Jaune weakly grunted. They got up and made their way to the shrine.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was still running from the Death Stalker, until she managed to leap forward, and land on her side with everyone else.

"Great. That whole gang's here. Now we can die together." Yang sarcastically declared.

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby stated as she charged up Crescent Rose, and dashed towards the Death Stalker.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang shouted, but she was too late, as she had already ran.

Ruby fired some shots from the scythe as she was prepared to attack, but the giant creature knocked Ruby backed into some trees.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled, when she saw that.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Ruby feebly assured her.

Yang charged up Ember Celica as she prepared to defend Ruby. Unfortunately, the giant Nevermore flapped his wings, raining down a barrage of sharp feathers, which caught onto Ruby's cape, and preventing Yang from reaching her. Neos shot a few bolts of lightning to temporarily stop the Death Stalker from reaching its target.

"Hurry, get out of there!" Yang yelled towards her, but Ruby was still struggling to break free.

Then Neos dashed in front of Ruby, and was prepared to defend her at all costs.

"Neos! What are you doing?!" Damien screamed as he saw his partner running towards his doom.

"Whatever it takes!" Neos answered as he extended the Claws of Mjolnir. The giant scorpion brought its claws towards them, but Neos grabbed them, halting its attack.

"Are you crazy?! Get out of here now! Save yourself!" Ruby pleaded with him.

"No way. I'm not leaving you, got that?" The spiky-haired teen stood his ground. Eventually, he was able to push the Death Stalker away, as it landed a few inches away from them. As Neos turned around to quickly help Ruby get unstuck, the Death Stalker got back up.

"Neos, look out!" Ruby screamed, as the ex-rogue turned around, and got into a fighting stance.

"All right bug, You're going down!" He declared.

The Death Stalker raised its stinger and was prepared to impale them both. Ruby closed her eyes as Neos held his arms out in defence. Just then, a white flash came towards the two, as the giant scorpion's stinger was trapped in ice.

A voice called out to them. "You are so childish!" Neos relaxed his arms while Ruby opened her eyes, and saw that Weiss had just saved them from their impeding death.

"Weiss…" That was all Ruby could say before the heiress pulled her rapier, Mrytenaster, out of the ice, and continued to berate her.

"And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." Then she stopped and calmed down a bit. "And I suppose I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer.

Ruby got up from the ground. "I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this."

"You're fine." Weiss assured her with a little smile.

"Normal knees." Ruby whispered to herself, eyes closed.

"Hey!" Neos called out to Weiss. "Thanks for your help."

Weiss turned to face the rogue, eyes narrowed. "I didn't do it for you. I did it to save my partner." She then noticed Ruby shooting her a glare, before she relaxed her face. "Fine, I admit it, I did want to save you too. Even if you still hate me."

Neos walked towards Weiss, hands by his side. "Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot the other day; I said some things I should have never said, and for that, I apologize deeply. The truth is, I do think you are a genuinely nice person, and I would like for us to be friends. So, if you're willing to give me another chance, I would like to start over. Whaddya say?" He extended his hand out.

Weiss thought for a moment before she spoke. "Well, I'll admit it, I was a little miffed when that incident happened, so I suppose I shouldn't have snapped at you. Even so, I suppose you're not the ruffian I assumed you would be. Very well, I'll accept your offer, if you accept my apology as well." Weiss shook his hand.

"It's a deal." Neos smiled, as the three ran back to where everyone else was waiting. Yang ran up to hug Ruby, while Damien high-fived Neos. The moment was ruined when the giant Nevermore screeched.

Jaune worried. "Uh guys? That's things circling us! What do we do?"

Weiss pointed towards the remaining relics. "Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us."

"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs. No point in fighting these things." Ruby nodded in agreement.

Neos sighed in fake disappointment. "Aww, but there's the fun in that?"

"I know, right?" Nora agreed, sounding somewhat serious.

"It doesn't matter. Headmaster Ozpin stated that we are to collect the relics. Nothing else!" Ryu reminded the two with a stern look.

"Run and live – Now that's a good idea!" Jaune quickly said, wanting to get out alive.

Ruby and Jaune ran to the shrine, and picked up a golden knight and rook piece respectively. After making their way back, Ruby motioned for everyone to escape.

Everyone started to run, except for Yang, who watched over Ruby with a proud smile on her face. Damien noticed this, as he knew what Yang was smiling about. He smiled back as he looked over Neos.

"They're gonna do just fine, don't you think?" Damien said as he stood beside her.

The blonde fighter nodded in agreement.

Neos saw the two as he called them out. "Hey lovebirds, let's go!" He yelled out as he continued running.

Both eyes widened as they both started blushing. They immediately ran up to join up with the gang.

* * *

 **Boom! That does it for this chapter. Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion.**


	7. Chapter 7: Initiation - Part 3

**Hello folks, it is now time for the thrilling conclusion. Let's see how everyone fares against the enemies that await them.**

* * *

The twelve students all dashed towards the exit of the exit of the forest and entered an abandoned structured plains, with the Death Stalker and the giant Nevermore still on their trail. The Nevermore swooped forward, and perched onto a high column. Everyone took cover to avoid been spotted. However, the Death Stalker was still behind them, forcing them out of hiding. Clearly, they had no choice but to fight, so they all readied their weapons and prepared for battle. As soon as the Nevermore saw the kids, it took to the skies.

"Nora, distract the bird!" Ren shouted.

Nora obliged as Magnhild transformed into its grenade launcher form, and fired a couple of heart-symbolled shells, catching the Nevermore off-guard. Unfortunately, the Death Stalker was right behind her, ready to attack the orange haired girl.

Thankfully, Ren, Blake, and Ryu delivered a triple slash against the scorpion. The Death Stalker starting to chase the three of them. Weiss created a few jumping platform glyphs, allowing her and Nora to jump to safety. Meanwhile, as the scorpion continued its pursuit, the three leapt in several directions as Gwen froze the ground, causing it to slip.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha order Jaune and Gwen to fall back, as Miló turned into a rifle, as she fired some shots alongside Ren's Stormflower, and Ryu's Yahto Blade, which also turned into a rifle. As soon as the Death Stalker approach them, they fell back and joined up with the rest of the gang.

As the twelve raced onto an ancient stone bridge, the Nevermore took a giant nosedive, shattering the bridge and separating the group. Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Damien, and Neos were trapped on the higher column with the giant raven. Blake, Pyrrha, Ren, Ryu, and Gwen were left stuck at the bottom with the Death Stalker.

Jaune wanted to help the group on the other side of the bridge, so Nora decided to whack him forward with her hammer while launching herself towards the same direction. Nora landed a direct hit on the Death Stalker's face, and when she recoiled backwards, she accidentally knocked Blake off the bridge. Thankfully, she fired Gambol Shroud, with the head wrapping around the Nevermore's body, allowing her to land beside the top group, as her weapons converted to pistol form.

"Man, that is one giant bird." Damien commented, adjusting the knob of Twin Dragon Fangs.

"Then let's hit it with everything we got." Yang suggested, readying up Ember Celica.

The six fired everything at the soaring Nevermore, as it continued to dodge a combination of bullets, ice, fire, and lightning. As Blake swung over to another side with Yang, Damien, and Neos continuing their barrage, Ruby came up with a plan.

Meanwhile, the bottom group continued their assault with the Death Stalker. As they battled, Pyrrha blocked a swipe from one of the scorpion's claws with her shield, Akoúo, while countering with her sword. As the Death Stalker tried to fight back, Jaune blocked a hit, sending him backwards, which allowed the gladiator to attack back.

Ren jumped onto the Death Stalker, holding onto the stinger for dear life, while shooting at the creature. "Ryu, now!" He called over to the blue haired samurai.

Ryu complied as he readied his blade, and as he swung it, he fired a large tornado at the scorpion, dazing it, with Ren hanging on tight. This allowed Pyrrha enough time to turn her blade into a javelin, and fired it directly into the beast's eyes, causing it to launch Ren into a stone wall.

"Ren!" Gwen shouted as the scorpion readied its stinger towards the boy. Thankfully, the archer summoned a giant ice knight to shield Ren. As soon as the Death Stalker made contact with the elemental's shield, it froze over.

"Do it, Pyrrha!" Jaune ordered. Pyrrha nodded as she threw her shield towards the frozen stinger, cutting it off and causing it to land onto the beast's head. She caught the rebound shield and went to retrieve her weapon.

"Nora, nail it!" Nora jumped onto Pyrrha's shield, launching herself high in the sky. She then descended towards the Death Stalker, landing a massive blow to the Death Stalker head with her hammer, causing the bridge to collapse, with the fell beast to plummet as well. As soon as the bridged started to collapse, the bottom group leaped towards the other side, getting to safe ground, and watched the other battle unfold.

As for the Nevermore, Yang jumped towards the beast, and fired a few blasts from Ember Celica into its mouth. "Do it, Neos!"

Neos readied himself as electricity coursed through his body, as he shot a huge bolt of lightning towards the Nevermore. As Yang leapt off the bird, the Grimm was electrocuted, being unable to move away in time.

Seeing the Nevermore stunned, Damien leapt into the air, while Yang was still falling from the sky, and sped himself up by aiming his Twin Dragon Fangs gauntlets towards the ground. The flamethrowers gave him more speed, and Yang was able to grab his arm, spin him around, and launch him upwards. The crimson haired lad delivered a devastating flame-charged roundhouse kick towards the creature's head, setting it ablaze. Yang gave an impressed whistle at his strength.

Then Weiss waved Myrtenaster around, freezing the flaming raven's tail to the ground, despite it still flapping its wings around. Blake fired Gambol Shroud towards Yang from the other side, where she caught it and held the tether tight, with Damien and Neos backing her up. Finally, Ruby jumped to the centre of the tether, with Crescent Rose in its scythe form, and as Weiss created a black sigil to where the red haired girl was standing.

"All right, things are coming into place." Damien commented, before hearing a roar. The three teens heard a larger, more spiky, Ursa major approaching.

"Oh that's just great, another freaking problem!" Neos groaned.

Yang narrowed her eyes. "Now what do we do?"

Damien thought for a moment. "All right, you help Ruby and the other girls with that bird; Neos and I got that beast!"

Yang thought for a moment before acknowledging him. "All right then, you guys be careful!"

Damien nodded. "Don't worry, we got this." He waved towards his partner. "C'mon Neos!"

"Yeah whatever..." Neos joked. While Yang re-affirmed her grip on the tether, Damien and Neos faced off against the Ursa Major.

Damien hoisted his pal and threw him upwards, to which Neos was about to pounce on him. The spiked Grimm was about to strike the ex-rogue, but Damien shot a few fireball at its stomach, distracting it's focus, as Neos struck the beast's head, while landing on the other side. "Okay, we doing this?" He commented, while charging his claws with electricity.

The crimson haired lad nodded while adjusting the knobs on his flamethrower gauntlets. "Do it!" The two teens shot a combination of fire and electricity at the Ursa Major, dealing heavy damage. "Yes! Let's get ready to finish it off."

"Don't sweat it, Damien. I got this!" Neos dashed towards the Ursa Major, claws up. But the Ursa Major quickly recovered, and swiped its paw at the teen, sending him crashing in a pillar.

"Neos!" Damien shouted. The Grimm turned its attention towards the other lad, as Damien tried to block each strike.

Ryu and Gwen noticed Damien defending himself from the Ursa Major. "Hmm, come on Gwen. We need to lend them our assistance."

"Right!" Gwen nodded, as she lined up her IceBorne Bow, and shot a volley of ice arrows at the Grimm. Before the spiked beast could strike Damien, it was frozen solid by the barrage. After being encased in ice, RYu charged his Yahto Blade and fired a large wind wave at the frozen Grimm, knocking it aside. "Can you get us to the other side?" Gwen asked, as Ryu held her up in one arm and leapt to the other side. He transformed his katana into a rifle to push themselves forward.

Neos got up and approached Damien, and noticed the Ursa Major being attacked from the distance. "Huh, wonder where that came from?"

"That would be us." The two boys turned to see Ryu and Gwen landing towards them. "Let us help you." Gwen offered.

Damien smirked. "Thanks, you two." The four of them faced the Ursa Major again, as Damien came the command. "All right, let's all combine our power and take that Grimm down! Gwen, keep that beast in check!"

Gwen nodded, as she conjured a small blizzard aimed at the Ursa Major's legs, preventing its movement, while it still flailed its arms around.

"Ryu, weaken the beast! Neos, get into position!" The two complied as Ryu dashed around the Grimm, delivering several fatal slashes, which also knocked off some of its spikes. At the same time, Neos crouched down as Damien got a running start at the weakened Grimm. He leapt off his pal's shoulders and charged his fist, landing a powerful fire punch at the Ursa Major's upper body, leaving a big hole inside it, launching it off the bridge, as it fell into the abyss. With the surprise fight over, they turned upwards to watch the girls finish their match against the Nevermore.

"Hmph, only you would come up with this idea." Weiss remarked.

"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby questioned.

"Can I?" Weiss replied with a cocky smirk. However, Ruby was clueless to understand sarcasm.

"Can you-" She asked, feeling unsure, but Weiss quickly cut her off.

"Of course I can!" The heiress clarified. With that, she turned the sigil from black to red, and as Ruby pumped Crescent Rose from the ground, she took off at such a high speed, that rose petals started to scatter.

Ruby started charging straight towards the Nevermore, its head got caught onto the scythe, as she continued to drag it towards the cliff walls. Weiss then created a series of white glyphs for Ruby to run vertically on the walls, the beast still in tow. She kept firing more shots behind her to increase her speed. As she reached the top of the summit, Ruby fired one last shot, decapitating its head clean from the Nevermore's body. She landed on the ground, with the bird's head crashing beside her, and the carcass falling into the abyss. Everyone looked on in amazement at what they had witnessed.

"Well, that was a thing." Yang said bluntly.

"Now that's what I call 'Breakneck speed.' Am I right?" Damien chuckled as he held out his arms.

Neos groaned as he walked away. "Ugh, terrible."

However, Yang quickly hugged up upwards, holding him tight, and sounding somewhat emotional. "That was beautiful!" Damien grinned as at least someone enjoyed his sense of humor.

Neos extended out his arms, as Ruby leapt into them. Neos caught the girl, and gently set her down. "That was certainly something. Nice work, Rubes!" They smiled at each other, as Neos patted Ruby's shoulders.

After a while, all the students made their way to the auditorium. Ozpin was listing the teams one at a time, while displaying their pictures on the screen. "Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrived the black bishop pieces. From now on, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by… Cardin Winchester!" The audience applauded as Team CRDL stepped down.

The next four students stepped forward, standing tall with their hands behind their backs, while their pictures displayed on the screen. "Damien Crimson, Ryu Yahto, Gwen Charlotteton, Neos Xanthos. The four of you retrieved the white bishop pieces. From now on, you will work together as Team DRGN (Dragon), led by… Damien Crimson!" Ozpin finished. The audience applauded once again as Damien and Neos fist-bumped. Damien looked over to where Yang stood smiling as she gave him a thumb's up, which he gave back. The four stepped down, as the next group's pictures replaced the ones on screen.

Ozpin continued to introduce the next team. "Jaune Ark, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. The four of you brought back the white rook pieces. From now on, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper), led by… Jaune Arc!" The audience applauded once more, while Jaune looked surprised, since he was not expecting to be designated as team leader. Pyrrha playfully punched the new leader's shoulder causing him to tumble. The four of them walked off, as Ozpin introduced the last team.

"And finally: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you gathered the white knight pieces. From now on, the four of you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby), led by… Ruby Rose!" The audience clapped, while Ruby and Weiss looked surprised. Yang ran over and hugged her sister up. Ruby saw Neos giving her a thumb's up. Blushing, she gave him one back.

The audience gave one final round of applause while Ozpin concluded the assembly. "It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."

Later on that night, after everyone had put their weapons away in their lockers, Damien was out on Beacon Campus, looking towards the moon, thinking about the big day he had today. He got to meet so many new friends, and got to be team leader at the same time; everything was perfect.

"There you are. You sure have a bad habit for being restless." He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to face Yang. "Ruby's been looking for you. She said she had a big announcement to share." She smiled to him.

The crimson haired lad smiled as the two made their way into the building. Even though they didn't get to be on the same team, they were still glad to have been accepted into the same school. As they reached their dorms, which were thankfully close by one another, Damien was surprised to see Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN waiting for them.

"Finally, about time you got here." Neos joked towards his pal.

Damien laughed as they made their way to their respective teams.

Ruby was the first to speak. "Okay everyone, listen, I know we may have just met and some of us may not know each other very well, but after today, I think that it would be absolutely wonderful if the twelve of us agree to stay together throughout the whole journey in Beacon; not as three separate teams, but as one big, happy family! What do you say, are you with me?" Rube finished her speech as she held her hand towards the centre.

After a few seconds of silence, someone finally spoke up. "Count me in!" Neos said as he put his hand over the girl's.

Damien and Yang were next to do so, followed by Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Gwen, Ren, Blake, and Ryu. Finally, everyone turned to face Weiss. "Oh, why not? I suppose this could work out well." She smiled as she put her hand on top.

Ruby smiled as she recited a small poem. "Through thick and thin, until the Grimm are beaten, we shall always fight on, as the defenders of Beacon!"

All twelve students raised their hands high as they all gave a great, big "Yeah!"

* * *

 **And there you have it. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN are now together as one. If you wanna know their semblances, Damien's revolves around fire, Ryu's is wind, Gwen's is ice, and Neos' is lightning. That is the basic elements for each one. Also, for another in-depth look, here are their roles: Damien's the high-damaging tanky-bruiser type, Ryu is the speedy-assassin type, Gwen is the long-range/mage type, and Neos is pretty much a balance of the three. Besides, it will be made more clear as the story progresses.**


	8. Chapter 8: Bonding - Team RWBY

**Hello everybody, it's time for another chapter of my RWBY OC Story. Just a head's up, while Team DRGN is still whole as a team, Damien and Neos are closer towards Team RWBY, while Ryu and Gwen are closer with Team JNPR. Also, this chapter and the next were originally going to be one chapter, I felt that it was too long, so I split it into two.**

* * *

After the late night, all three teams were still sleeping the day in their respective dorms. In Team DRGN's dorm room, Damien saw his pal still snoozing, pillow lying on his face. The crimson haired leader lifted the pillow off Neos' face and shook him awake.

"Go… Away!" Neos yelled, just wanting to sleep in, but Damien already rolled him off the bed. "Ugh, morning. So, how's our new team leader doing?" He joked towards his pal.

"Good morning to you too, teammate!" Damien declared out as the other two team members got up easily. "It's time to get down to business! First, school uniforms!" He declared as he opened up a closet, to reveal four sets of school uniforms.

"That's right. Every student is given a Beacon Academy uniform to wear." Gwen commented.

"Yes, but we're still free to customize it anyway that we please." Ryu pointed out.

"That's good. Because I'm keeping my vest on!" Neos addressed, as he tugged his vest, while fixing his small scarf over the black jacket.

"I know exactly what you mean. I never go anywhere without my good old jacket." Damien pointed out.

"Likewise." Ryu stated while keeping his own trademark jacket, while Gwen still had her necklace on the outside.

The crimson haired leader moved on to the next item. "Okay, next up, re-arranging the dorm!" Damien and Neos had their beds on one side, while Ryu and Gwen put their beds on the other side. The two pals hung some posters on their separate bedside, as well as a boombox on a cabinet, and a basketball net between their beds. They also brought in a big square television, as well as a video game system, with lots of games included. Meanwhile, the two bladed fighters placed a small meditation net between their beds, a small plant on the windowsill, and a large bookshelf on the wall south of their beds, full of ancient text. Gwen also put a bible in the shelf as well, and a small goddess icon on top. They were lucky to have all their stuff organize in a tight room.

After everyone finished getting ready, Damien continued to go over the itinerary for the day. "All right everyone. As one of the newest teams of Beacon Academy, I think it's a good idea that we all get to know each other a little better, seeing as we're gonna be working together for the next four years."

Neos chuckled as his pal was clearly enjoying his new role. "Well, even though we've already known each other's names, it doesn't hurt to familiarize ourselves with each other. So, this is Damien, and I'm Neos."

"Ryu Yahto." The swordsman nodded.

"And I am Gwen Charlotteton. It's very nice to meet you two." The archer smiled and bowed towards Damien. "So, how long have you two known each other?"

"Oh, we've been pals since Sanctum. Not a day passes by without the two of us sticking together." Neos proudly answered.

Ryu chuckled upon hearing this. "Wow, you two must be really close. Not bad."

Damien leaned back on the wall behind him and folded his arms. "Anyways, how did the two of you become partners?"

"Well, as I was fighting a giant Ursa, I got ambushed by a Beowolf. I would have been done for if Ryu hadn't come to my rescue." Gwen smiled as she put her hand on her partner.

Ryu blushed a small amount, and gave a small smile. "I admit, I wasn't really hoping to make any partners, much less a team. But even so, I'm glad to have met Gwen. Being with her makes me feel at ease." He confessed as he turned to face her.

Gwen gave a small gasp when she heard this, but blushed as well.

"Aw, would you look at that? First day here, and we already got a romance in the making." Neos smirked, causing the twos' faces to redden harder as they broke away.

Damien laughed as he enjoyed the bonding already in progress. "All right guys, I think we're all getting off to a good start. That is why, I propose after today's class, we all do a little group training. Perhaps come up with some team combo attacks. After all, communication is key in a successful team." He proudly reminded the other three, who all nodded in agreement.

"I suppose this could work out." Ryu smiled, when he dropped it after remembering something. "I suppose we should get to class now."

"Aw, right now?" Neos grumbled. "It's only 8:40, and I haven't even eaten breakfast."

"Well, it's not our fault. We tried to wake you up before breakfast." Ryu reminded him.

Gwen giggled, before reaching into her mini-bag. "Well, maybe this will help." He offered him a granola bar.

Neos unwrapped the snack and quickly devoured it. "Hmm, it'll do for now. Thanks, Gwen!" He nodded towards the smiling archer.

"All right then, let's get going." Damien cheered. As Team DRGN exited the dorm, they noticed Team RWBY and Team JNPR still in their dorm. "Hmm, do you think we should remind them?" The crimson haired lad wondered.

"No need, Damien. I'm certain they are busy preparing." Ryu replied, as the four of them walked towards the lecture hall.

"Greetings, welcome to Grimm Studies!" They were greeted by a large portly man who had grey hair, with his eyes always closed. He had a big grey mustache, and wore a red teacher's coat, black pants, and sole-less shoes. "My name is Peter Port, and I'm always happy to see students arriving nice and early to my class!"

"Thank you Professor Port." Damien greeted back. "So, how long until class starts?"

"Well young man, class will begin in 5 minutes, so I do hope everyone arrives on time!" Professor Port answered, once Teams RWBY and JNPR dashed through the doors. "Ah, and wouldn't you know. More and more students are arriving right now!"

"Hey there, didn't think you guys were gonna make it!" Neos smirked towards them.

"Well, we would have been here sooner, but we were busy organizing our dorms." Yang answered, as everyone took their seats. The twelve of them sat in the front two rows, with Teams RWBY and JNPR sitting in the first row, and Team DRGN sat behind the two halves of the teams. Damien and Neos sat behind Yang and Ruby, while Ryu and Gwen sat behind Ren and Pyrrha.

As the professor rambled on, Ruby drew a crude little picture of the professor, which Ruby, Blake, Yang, Damien, and Neos all laughed at, except Weiss who shot Ruby an angry look. The lecture continued for several boring minutes. Neos had fallen asleep, lying forward on the desk in front of him. Damien rested his head on his hand, eyes half-opened. Ruby continued to fumble around, drawing the anger of Weiss.

Gwen noticed Neos snoozing face-first. "Oh dear. I hope Neos doesn't get in trouble for this." She whispered to Damien.

"He does this all the time in class. He'll be fine though." Damien whispered back, as Professor Port caught the ex-rogue in the act.

"My goodness! It's the first day in, and we already have a volunteer!" Port boomed towards Neos, waking him up.

"Huh-wuzzat?!" Neos jerked his head up, and noticed Professor Port staring at him. "I mean, yes professor, I volunteer!" He got up, before reality ensued. "Uh, what am I volunteering for exactly?"

"Well, seeing as you feel like you're 'clearly' such a well-trained Huntsman, I figured you should have no trouble demonstrating your skills to the class!" The professor explained, as he signalled towards his cage. "Well Mr. Xanthos, step forward, and face your opponent!"

Neos saw a pair of red eyes glowing from the cage, before realizing what he meant. "Sure thing, professor. I accept the challenge!" He grinned, before taking off his student jacket and fixing his clawed gloves.

"You got this, Neos. Just remember not to rush in recklessly." Damien reminded him.

"Don't worry, Damien. I got this!" Neos assured him.

"Go Neos! You can do it!" Ruby cheered, to which he gave her a thumbs-up.

Neos walked to the centre, where once he faced Professor Port, he grabbed a battle-axe to break the lock on the cage, as a Boarbatusk exited from its prison.

Neos extended the Claws of Mjolnir from his gloves, as he stared down the Grimm. "All right, freak-show. Let's get this show on the road!"

As the battle began, the Boarbatusk charged head-first towards the spiky-haired blonde, but Neos leapt over the Grimm and bounced off its head, as they both ended up on opposite sides. "Hmm, quite speedy, I must say!" Port commended. "But speed isn't enough!"

The Boarbatusk eyed Neos before it started running in a zig-zag pattern in order to catch him by surprise. However, Neos charged up his claws and fired several lightning bolts at the Grimm, slowing its descent. However, the Boarbatusk decided to curl up into a ball, and charge straight towards him. Neos leapt towards the spinning beast whilst performing his spinning drill attack, as the two clashed, with the ex-rogue winning the trade-off.

"Fighting fire with fire, very nice!" Professor Port nodded.

"Wow! He sure has a lot of strength!" Yang grinned.

Neos and the Boarbatusk faced out yet again, while trying to anticipate their next move. "Neos, the Boarbatusk has no armour underneath, that's its weak point!" Ryu called out to him.

Neos nodded, as he charged up the Claws of Mjolnir with electricity, ready for action. The Boarbatusk rolled up and sped towards him, but Neos just stood his ground, not moving an inch. Everyone was confused with what he was doing, as the Grimm leapt upwards, preparing to kill.

"Why is he standing there? He's going to get himself killed!" Blake shouted.

"Relax, he knows what he's doing." Damien assured.

Once the Boarbatusk head-charged towards the ex-rogue, Neos immediately grabbed the Grimm by its tusks, surprising everyone, including Professor Port. Neos delivered a huge jolt of electricity at the Grimm, before suplexing it to the ground. Once the Boarbatusk laid on its back, Neos dug his claws into the beast's stomach as he hoisted it above him. Finally, he channelled his Semblance, causing his entire body to emit lightning, severely electrocuting the Boarbatusk until it eventually exploded. Once there was no sign of the Grimm remaining, Neos dusted himself, before he retracted his claws back into his gloves.

"Impressive work, young man! Quite a bit of a messy finish, but nonetheless, you demonstrated commendable strength and strategy out there!" Port congratulated him. "Although in the future, please do remain awake for any future lectures."

Neos nodded. "Sorry professor. I was up all night studying." He fibbed.

The professor nodded, as he dismissed the class. Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Damien all walked up to greet Neos.

"That was awesome! You were all like, BZZZZZ! and the Grimm was all like, SCREECH!" Ruby beamed, as the five chuckled.

"Yeah, you were amazing! It was certainly a 'shocking' experience!" Yang joked, to which Damien high-fived her, while Neos rolled his eyes.

"I gotta admit Neos, you did pretty good." Blake admitted.

Neos rubbed the back of his head, feeling good. "Thanks girls. It was nothing!" However, Weiss stayed silent as she walked away, her face carrying an angry expression, with the five of them noticing. "What's with her?"

Neither of them had a clue, as Ruby decided to zoom off to find out. "Anyways, I'm gonna go grab something to eat. I'll see you later." Neos waved toward Blake and Yang, as he and Damien walked out of the halls. However, as they exited, they noticed Ruby catching up to Weiss, as they decided to hide behind a locker to see what was going on.

As Weiss continued to storm out, Ruby caught up to her and called her. "Weiss!"

Weiss turned around when she heard her name. "What?!"

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?" Ruby asked, before getting cut off.

Weiss answered in a bitter tone. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!"

Ruby scoffed when she heard that. "What did I do?"

Weiss, still feeling upset, decided to tell her off. "That's just it - you've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? Even last night, where the twelve of us promised to work together as one. I thought you believed in all of that!" Ruby questioned her, feeling more and more hurt.

"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better!" Weiss finished as she turned her back to leave. Ruby reached out to her, but she gave up, as she heard the last few words. "Ozpin made a mistake." She coldly said as she left.

Damien and Neos finished listening in to the conversation, as they decided to fix the situation. The two of them faced each other and nodded while coming up with the same idea, with Neos rushing off to find Weiss, while Damien set his sights on the downtrodden leader.

Ruby just stood there, on the verge of tears. "Did Ozpin… make a mistake?" She muttered.

"Come on now. What kind of talk is that?" She turned to see Damien walking towards her, pulling her into a soft hug, and patting her back.

"Oh, hi Damien." She sadly whispered, still feeling down, a few tears rolling down on her face.

After letting her go, Damien gave Ruby a warm smile. "Look Ruby, you can't get down on yourself. We're both leaders now. It's our job to lead our teams to victory. Besides, if a leader can't lead their team, then who will their teammates look up to?

Ruby nodded, as Damien wiped a tear off her face. "Do you really think so?"

"I know you have what it takes to be a great leader. I'm sure Weiss knows that too, even if she's not showing it. She just needs a moment to realize that." Damien assured her. "Trust me. Even though we all do make mistakes, Ozpin electing you as leader is definitely not one of them!"

Ruby smiled as she did feel a little better. "Thanks Damien, I suppose that does help."

The crimson haired lad smiled back. "Anytime. And hey, if you still wish to learn how to be a successful leader, then I think I can help you with that. Come with me!" He said, as Ruby followed him.

Meanwhile, Weiss had walked outside of the school, and was making her way to Ozpin's office, when suddenly, Neos stopped her. "Hey snowflake, how's it going?" He smirked at the irked heiress.

"Not now, Neos. I'm busy!" She scolded, as the boy shrugged his arms.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for. I just thought if you were in a bad mood, there was something I could do to help." He offered, as Weiss stood silently. "C'mon Weiss, I know I don't look like it, but I know a lot more that you think. Just give me a chance."

Weiss crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "Well, if you really wish to help, you could come with me to see Ozpin."

Neos folded his arms, and raised an eyebrow at the request. "What for?"

"Because, I want to speak to him about changing Ruby's role as team leader!" The heiress confessed.

"And why, pray tell, should I do that?" Neos questioned.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss said, getting more annoyed.

"I know the dude's pretty mysterious, but aren't you rushing things a bit too much? I mean, it's only been the first day." The rogue shrugged.

"So, you would rather blindly accept his judgement even after seeing how exceptional I am?" Weiss yelled.

Neos glared at the heiress. "No offense, but the only thing matching your skills is that poor attitude of yours."

Weiss was seething at this point. "How dare you?!"

Neos pointed at her. "See what I mean? You look like someone who's used to always getting her way!" Weiss initially denied, before she reluctantly conceded.

Neos thought for a bit as to what Damien would say at a time like this. "Think about it Weiss, if you were to waltz into Ozpin's office, acting like this, do you honestly think he would even consider your decision?"

Weiss calmed down a bit. "I suppose not." She admitted.

Neos said in a stern voice, putting his hands on her shoulders. "So, stop trying to think about what you don't have, and be grateful for what you do have! Instead of focusing on trying to be the best leader, maybe focus on trying to be the best teammate you can possibly be."

Weiss smiled as she took in every word he said. "You're right, thanks Neos. You have some sense of wisdom after all."

Neos smirked as he stretched his arms. "Well, I learn from the best."

"I know I didn't say this yet, but your performance back in class was quite impressive." Weiss admitted.

Just then, Ruby and Damien walked towards the two, as Weiss apologized for her behaviour earlier, and promised Ruby that she will be the best teammate ever, while telling her that she does have what it takes to be a good leader.

After the two hugged it out, Damien offered a quick 2 vs 2 training session; Ruby and Weiss against Damien and Neos, which they accepted. The two teams displayed a huge amount of teamwork skill, and in the end, the match ended with a close outcome. Weiss commended Ruby's leadership skills, as she made her way into the building.

As Weiss entered inside, Yang walked up towards the three. "Hey, what have you been up to?" She asked with a grin.

"Oh, y'know. Just having a quick sparring session." Damien shrugged, as Yang held out a held.

"Stop. Blake told me how the two of you mended the situation. Impressive work I gotta admit! Good job, you two." Yang smiled as she walked up to Damien, and pulled him into a tight embrace. "And thank you for comforting my sister like that, Damien. You are truly a wonderful person." Yang said warmly, as she nuzzled her cheek onto Damien's neck.

Being caught completely off-guard, Damien quickly recovered, as he wrapped his arms around her body. "Anytime Yang. I'm always happy to lend a hand to a friend in need." He smiled back, resting his head next to hers.

Ruby and Neos faced each other and smiled as they wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders. After a few seconds, the four made their back to their next class.

* * *

 **There you go. A major rework for this chapter, since I decided it would be more interesting if someone else besides Weiss fought the Boarbatusk. Next time, we'll see Ryu and Gwen's bond with team JNPR.**

 **Note: If you can see Gwen's personality as a holy person, it is because the name "Gwen" is meant to be a holy name; hence the priest tone.**


	9. Chapter 9: Bonding - Team JNPR

**Hello again. It's time to focus on the other half of Team DRGN. This time, Ryu and Gwen get some attention. Also, this chapter is going to reveal some of my OCs' backstories.**

* * *

The class was silent in Mr. Goodwitch's aura-training class, as they watched a match with Jaune and Cardin Winchester. The match ended with Cardin reducing Jaune's aura to a low enough level, while Glynda reminded Jaune to do a better job keeping track of his aura. As the blonde boy walked to his seat, Glynda looked at her tablet, and back as the clock. "Hmm, it seems we have time for another match. And seeing as Mr. Winchester still has full aura, let's find a new opponent. I trust that's fine with you?" She addressed Cardin.

Cardin shrugged, while holding his mace confidently. "Yup!"

"Let's see... how about you, Mr. Yahto?" She turned to face Ryu.

Ryu nodded, as he readied himself. "Of course, Ms. Goodwitch." He dialed his scroll to summon his rocket-locker, to retrieve his Yahto Blade.

Cardin grinned maliciously. "This shouldn't take long."

"Hmph, you let your ego take control over you. This will be your downfall." Ryu simply muttered.

"Hah! Keep telling yourself that!" Cardin growled back.

Once the match began, Cardin charged towards the samurai as he lifted his mace upwards. However, Ryu simply swung his blade horizontally in front of him, firing a strong wind wave that knocked him back. Cardin got back up and leapt towards him, bringing his mace down. However, Ryu responded with a quick chop to his head, followed by an open-palmed strike to his chest, generating a gust of wind with shoved him again. Cardin was angered at this point, as he decided to leap toward his opponent yet again, slamming his weapon to the ground which caused an explosion. Ryu jumped back to avoid the blast. He then readied his Yahto Blade and fired a large tornado at Mr. Winchester, hurling him upwards.

"It's over!" The blue-haired samurai leapt into the vortex and dashed towards Cardin, slashing him from several angles. Once the tornado was dispelled, Cardin was lying on the ground with his aura reaching the danger-zone, while Ryu sheathed his blade. "And that's that." He stated, while Cardin cursed under his breath while getting up.

"Excellent work, Mr. Yahto. As you can see class, using brute strength alone can easily be exploited, as your opponents can telegraph your attacks and use them to their advantage." Professor Goodwitch addressed, as she dismissed the class.

Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN were all sitting together, with Nora telling them about a dream she had, which Ren had to constantly correct. While she was telling the story, Ruby noticed Jaune was still feeling down from class.

Concerned for her friend, Pyrrha also decided to get answers. "Jaune, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Jaune half-heartedly replied.

"Because you seem the opposite." Gwen mentioned, as everyone looked towards team CRDL, who was surrounding a shy brown-haired girl with bunny ears. Damien stared intensely at what happened there, not saying a word.

"Dude, don't let that oaf get to you. He's nothing but a bully." Neos said, trying to look out for him.

Jaune continued to deny this." Oh please, name one time Cardin's ever bullied me." Unfortunately, they were able to name several instances, causing everybody, to face Jaune.

"If you ever need help, we're here for you." Pyrrha assured him.

"Oh, I know. We'll break his legs!" Nora yelled out, trying to be helpful in her own way.

"I second that!" Neos agreed.

"Now, now. Violence is never the answer." Ryu reminded them.

Everyone turned to face CRDL once again, as Cardin and Russel started to pull on the rabbit-Faunus' ears, causing the girl to yell out in pain. Damien continued to stare down at the group, his face getting angrier by each second, his fist clenching.

"What a freak!" Russel blurted out not even caring.

This caused Damien to snap, and slam his fist on the table, getting everyone's attention in the room, and scaring all his pals beside him. "Hey! Cardin! You bastard, what's the big idea, picking on a girl like that? Have you no shame?!" He roared out as he stormed towards their table. Ruby tried to stop him, but Neos put his hand out, knowing where this was going.

Cardin and his group looked up to the fuming boy, still standing their ground. "What's the big deal? We're just having some fun. Back off!" Cardin ordered, continuing to tug on the girl's ears.

Damien had enough of their bullcrap. He immediately shoved Dove and Sky to the ground, while grabbing Russel and Cardin's arms, and twisted them back, causing them to scream out in pain while letting go of the girl's ears. "I don't care what you do in your spare time, but you do not pick on the Faunus like that! So, I suggest you and your pathetic crew get the hell out of my face and leave her alone, or you will regret it!" The entire room fell quiet, as they watched the entire scene unfold.

Cardin, still trying to get through the pain, managed to speak a few words. "And why the hell should I do that?"

Damien noticed Dove and Sky standing behind him, so he swung Russel and Cardin towards the other two boys, causing Team CRDL to fall to the ground, in a defeated pile. Damien walked towards the group, and spoke in a calm tone that got more threatening as he continued. "I will not say this again, so listen carefully. Leave the girl alone, and get… out… NOW!" His voice echoed throughout the room, startling everyone while scaring Team CRDL. Even Yang and Blake were at a loss for words at what Damien was doing.

Cardin clenched his teeth, and glared at Damien. "This isn't over!" He angrily yelled out, as he and his crew quickly walked out of the dining hall. The entire room roared out with applause at Damien's courageous act.

He quickly calmed down, and put a shoulder on the Faunus' shoulder. "Sorry about losing my temper there. Are you all right?"

The quiet girl stood shocked, but smiled afterwards. "Yes, thank you so much. I never expected anyone to defend me like that."

"Well, don't worry. I understand the pain you go through. After all, I've had the exact same experience." Damien explained. "Just know, if you ever need help, you can tell me anytime. By the way, the name's Damien Crimson."

"Velvet Scarlatina." The rabbit-eared girl happily shook his hand. "Well Damien, it was a pleasure to meet you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go meet my team." She walked towards her group, while Damien waved back.

Teams RWBY, JNPR, as well as Ryu and Gwen stood there, still surprised. "Well, that was definitely unexpected." That was all Yang could word out.

"Tell me about it." Blake spoke. "I never would have imagined Damien defending the Faunus like that."

"Well, it's no surprise, since Damien knows exactly how it feels." Everyone turned to face Neos, who had his eyes closed, and arms crossed.

"What do you mean?" Weiss demanded an answer.

"Isn't it obvious, Damien's one of them!" Neos revealed to the entire group, who almost fell out of complete shock upon hearing that.

"Wait, Damien's a Faunus?!" Ruby yelled. "But he looks like a normal human!

"That's because I'm actually a half-Faunus." Damien explained as he pulled into his seat between Yang and Blake. "My father was a human, and my mother was a komodo dragon Faunus. Despite having no Faunus traits, I was still discriminated because of it." He brushed his hair aside to reveal his scar on his left cheek. "And this is a reminder of it; for you see, when I was young, one of those kids threw a sharp rock right at my face, leaving a mark that never went away!" He darkly stated, surprising everyone.

"I had no idea." Gwen mouthed.

"That same night, when I was crying into my mother's shoulders, I asked her what they have against us. And she looked me in the eyes, wiped the tears away, and said with a warm smile; "People just need to get used to us. Even though we look different, we live the same lives as everyone else." Those were the last words she said to me, right before she passed away..." He said while closing his eyes, while everyone was silent.

"I try not to let it get to me, but seeing people like Cardin just infuriates me so much...!" He angrily growled while clenching his fist, which started to catch fire, startling his friends.

Blake put her hand on Damien's shoulder, and stared into the same direction that Team CRDL retreated to, with a glare towards them. "I know exactly how you feel."

Then he felt Yang's hand on his other shoulder, as she said in a comforting tone. "It must be hard to be a Faunus, or even a half-Faunus."

Damien sighed, as the flames around his hand vanished, before calming down. "Yes, but even so, I will never give up hope, for what my mother said is true; humans and Faunus are capable of living together in harmony! After all, look at my parents; they were two different people, and yet they loved each other very much!" The crimson haired lad said with a serious face.

Weiss commended and scolded Damien for his actions. "That was a brutish way to deal with the situation! But even so, I can understand that, if I was in your shoes."

Damien turned to face her. "Yes, I know I shouldn't have lost my temper, but that is who I am. If I see someone in need of help, I'm gonna go and do what it takes, even if it kills me." The heiress nodded in admiration, as Blake and Yang smiled in admiration.

"Well now, this has certainly been an interesting display." Everyone turned to see Professor Ozpin standing by the doors. "Just a reminder, boys and girls. The Vytal Festival Tournament is approaching rapidly, so don't forget to train."

Everyone cheered as they all headed back to class. As they walked, Ozpin put his hand on Damien's shoulder. "That was a selfless act of heroism you pulled there today, very nice. Though, in the future, do keep any violent outbursts to a minimum."

Damien rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yes sir. Sorry about that."

Ozpin smiled. "That's okay. Now run along." He let Damien join up with his friends, as he took a sip from his mug. "That boy. I sense something strong inside of him; an enormous amount of power. He may be our biggest hope yet."

During history class, the Professor (Doctor) Bartholomew Oobleck, was explaining to the class how the Faunus fought for their rights, and asked is anyone had ever been discriminated for their Faunus heritage; a question which Damien and another student raised their hands, followed by Velvet.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" The good doctor said, while taking another sip of his coffee. "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" Weiss raised her hand to the question. "Yes?"

"The Battle of Fort Castle!" Weiss providing the correct answer.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Cardin threw a paper plane at Jaune, inadvertently putting him on the spot. Professor Oobleck saw this, and turned towards the young blonde. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

Jaune looked over the professor's shoulders to see Pyrrha trying to give him the answer, by putting her hands around her eyes. He then looked over and saw Damien write something on paper, showing it to Jaune, which read "NIGHT VISION". Jaune guessed the correct answer, as Cardin grumbled while Damien quickly crumpled up the paper. At the end of the class, both Jaune and Cardin were told to stay in after class, afterwards, they were forced to submit an essay for next class.

Later on that night, everyone had gone to sleep, except for Ryu, who was meditating on the mat. While sitting, Ryu could hear Juane and Cardin talking on the roof. Apparently, Cardin had obtained some incriminating facts on Jaune, which forced him to do his bidding.

Ryu, wondering what was going on, decided to ask Jaune himself. He slipped on his overcoat and some sandals, quietly left the Team DRGN room, and waited outside the hall.

As Jaune started to walk to his dorm, he didn't notice Ryu standing there. After deciding not to enter the dorm room, he slumped down on the wall and saw the swordsman facing him. "Ahem! Long day?"

Jaune looked up. "Oh, hi Ryu. Yeah, something like that."

Ryu chuckled as he sat next to Jaune. "I know we haven't gotten too acquainted with each other, but if you wish to tell me what's troubling you, I'm listening."

Jaune was hesitant before he decided to tell him the story. "I, uh… I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin has me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and... I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." He sighed, as Ryu listened intently, eyes closed. "I'm a failure. I should just leave my teammates alone." Suddenly, he felt a slap on his face before turning to face an angry Ryu.

Ryu quickly scolded. "Don't ever say that again! Do you understand?" He held his shoulder tightly, scaring Jaune slightly. "If you'd rather crawl into a hole and die, then be my guest, but do not hide from your failures!"

Jaune held his face where he got slapped. "Hey! What's the big idea? I am a failure! What am I supposed to do?!"

Ryu sighed as he decided to give a brief story about himself. "I was on the same path as you, five years ago. In my village, it was my job to guard our home from our sworn enemies. After the battle had finished, the village suffered heavy casualties. I felt responsible for not being able to protect the people, and so I isolated myself from society. However, once my uncle found me, he explained to me that it's futile to hide from my mistakes, and I cannot always face them alone. Do you know what I am saying?" He stopped as Jaune sat, surprised.

"I had no idea. But even so, what if I bring my team down? I'm their leader, what if I can't live up to leader standards?"

Ryu thought for a moment, before smiling and giving him an answer. "Well, that's what teammates are for." He continued to a confused Jaune. "Listen Jaune, you are not alone anymore. You have a team that depends on you. When you fall, they fall too. It is important that you put your teammates ahead of you. Understood?"

Jaune nodded, and gave a smile. "Yeah, thanks Ryu."

Ryu nodded, before heading to his room. "I know you have what it takes to be a good leader. Just remember to never face the challenges alone." With that, he entered into his room, not trying to wake up his teammates.

He peeked outside the keyhole and saw Jaune about to enter into his room before getting a call from Cardin, telling him to march over to him. Jaune sighed as he walked dejectedly down the hall.

"I really hope he's all right." Ryu saw Gwen was awake too. "His confidence is crushed, and he feels useless." She said in a worried tone.

"Hmm, his teammates don't seem to know what he's going through." Ryu wondered.

"Maybe I'll talk to Pyrrha about this. She'll know what to do." Gwen thought.

The next day, Teams RWBY, JNPR, DRGN, and CRDL were being led by Professor Goodwitch towards the forest of Forever Fall. They were instructed to collect jars of sap from the trees, but they needed to watch out for any lurking Grimm.

Pyrrha noticed that Jaune had wondered off with Team CRDL again, as she let out a big sigh. Suddenly, she felt someone tapping her shoulder.

"Hi Pyrrha, are you feeling alright?" Gwen asked the saddened gladiator.

"Gwen… I'm fine, really." Pyrrha tried giving a reassuring smile, but the archer didn't buy it.

"I don't know, you seem really worried about Jaune. It's okay, you can tell me." Gwen assured, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Pyrrha sighed as she knew she couldn't deny it. "It's just… Why does Jaune feel like he has to do everything by himself? I know he's trying his hardest, but can't he see that his team needs him? That I need him?!" She finished, sounding on the verge of tears.

Gwen was taken aback by her outburst, but stayed calm. "I'm sure Jaune is trying to live up to everyone's standards. He just doesn't want to disappoint you guys."

"But Jaune never has to worry about disappointing me. I would never feel that way towards him! So why does he not realize that?" Pyrrha started to bawl on Gwen's shoulders, with her gently holding her head.

"I know Jaune truly cares for you. His confidence is in a bad place, since Cardin ruined it. He only wishes to not feel useless."

"W-what do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, still sniffling.

"I know how it feels to never be taken seriously. In my home, people saw me as nothing more than a weak girl. Always tormenting me, always pushing me around." Tears formed around her eyes too. "During that time, my father wanted to keep me safe, since my mother had passed away at the time. But I was sick of the constant mistreatment. That's when father started to train me, using the techniques passed around my family. One day, when our village was under attack from a Grimm invasion, I begged father to let me help, and he did. Though none of the soldiers took me seriously, I was able to help save our home." Pyrrha looked shocked, hearing about it. "Afterwards, no one ever dared to call me weak, or underestimate me again. Since then, I feel confident in the hopes of protecting the people." Gwen faced Pyrrha and gave her a smile. "Jaune just needs a boost in confidence, and he will realize how important you are, and not just as a teammate."

Pyrrha faced her and asked. "But how do I do that?"

Gwen continued smiling. "You'll know."

Pyrrha gave a smile back. "I see. Thank you, Gwen. I know what to do."

As Damien and Neos were collecting sap, they looked around to see that Ryu had gone missing. Unbeknownst to then, Ryu had gone off to see what Jaune was doing with Team CRDL. After forcing him to collect the sap, Cardin then ordered Jaune to throw the jar at Pyrrha and Damien, or else he'd have a chat with Professor Goodwitch.

Jaune hesitated before noticing Ryu standing there, arms crossed, hoping to Jaune to do what's right.

Finally having enough, jaune stood his ground. "No."

Cardin and his team looked surprised at what they had heard. "What did you say?"

"I said… NO!" He threw the jar at Cardin's chest, as Ryu smiled, proud at him for standing up to him.

Cardin was enraged at his actions, and as he went to lift Jaune up and punch him in the face. When his fist collided with his head, a flash of while light came from Jaune, as not only did that block the punch, but it made Cardin recoil in pain.

Before anything else could happen, a great big roar came from the forest, as a giant spiked Ursa Major ran up to them. The Ursa Major saw the sap on Cardin and was prepared to attack. Cardin fell down in fear, while his teammates ran for their lives.

As the Ursa Major was prepared to attack, Jaune stood in front of a scarred Cardin to defend him.

"Hey, need a hand?" Ryu called to Juane, his blade ready.

Jaune smiled back. "Thanks, but I have to do this myself."

Ryu nodded and moved to the other side, while Ruby, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Damien all came running towards him.

"There you are, Ryu. Why aren't you helping him?!" Weiss demanded.

"Because… This is something Jaune wishes to do on his own." Ryu stated, with Damien nodding in understanding.

The Ursa Major slashed at Cardin, but Jaune blocked it with Crocea Mors. The spiked beast slammed his fist down, but he rolled out of the way. He tried to slash at its feet, but the Ursa Major knocked him upwards, causing him to crash hard. Jaune pulled out his scroll, and saw he was low on Aura. Still not giving up, the two dashed towards each other.

However, Pyrrha noticed he left himself wide open for an attack. Knowing this, she used her semblance to reposition Jaune's shield, causing him to black the attack, and allowing him a chance for a counterattack. Jaune slashed his sword upwards, beheading the Ursa Major completely.

Ryu saw that, but decided not to bring it up, as he and Damien went to the other side.

Ruby and Weiss looked on in amazement, as Pyrrha explained that her semblance was polarity. Deciding to keep it a secret, the three girls left Jaune alone.

Cardin looked on in amazement as Jaune helped him up, and pulled him closer with a threatening look on his face. "Never mess with my team – my friends – ever again! Understand?" He glared into the scared boy's eyes, with Damien and Ryu backing him up. Cardin, knowing that Jaune isn't the clueless kid he thought, nodded quickly, also promising never to speak of anything to Professor Goodwitch as well.

Later on that night, Jaune sat on top on the building, looking at the night sky, when Pyrrha came in, looking for their leader. Jaune decided to use this opportunity to set things right.

"Pyrrha, I'm so sorry for what I said the other night. I was a jerk! You were only trying to be nice, and... I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-"

"Jaune, it's okay." Pyrrha said back at the knight, as they both smiled in understanding. "Your team really misses their leader, you know." She begins to walk to the exit. "You should come down! Ren made pancakes! No syrup, though - you can thank Nora for that!" Before she could exit, Jaune called out to her.

"Wait!" Pyrrha turns around, and Jaune gives a sheepish look. "I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... would you still be willing to help me... to help me become a better fighter?"

Pyrrha turns around and smiles satisfied. She goes up to Jaune and suddenly pushes her leader to the ground.

"Hey!" Jaune whined.

Pyrrha stood over, explaining to him. "Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground." She offers him her hand, which he graciously accepts, and they continue to hold on to and grin at each other. "Let's try that again."

Ryu and Gwen stood on the Beacon grounds as they were glad that the tension had been resolved.

"Well, we did it. We managed to help Jaune regain his confidence." Gwen said in a warm voice.

"No, he did that all by himself. He just needed a push in the right direction." Ryu smiled too, as the two entered their room for the night.

* * *

 **There you have it. I hope you enjoyed that. I mean, holy crap, that was long!**

 **Note: I was originally going to make Damien as a full regular Faunus, but that didn't really work with the design I had in mind, so instead, I went with half-Faunus. Also, I planned to have Ryu as the silent loner type, but I decided against it.**


	10. Chapter 10: Bonding - Team DRGN

**Hello everyone, welcome to the first "Lost Chapter" of this story. Seeing as I wrote chapters showing Team DRGN bonding with Team RWBY as well as Team JNPR, I figured that I would do the same with them. Watch as Team DRGN bonds with... each other!**

* * *

The sun shone brightly through the windows of Team DRGN's dorm room, as everyone was wide awake... Well, almost everyone. As usual, Neos was sleeping in, and as usual, Damien nudged him awake, much to his annoyance. "Can't a guy just sleep in?!" He yelled.

Damien laughed, as Ryu shook his head and Gwen giggled. "Come on now, time to get up."

Neos got up and took a quick shower. After exiting the bathroom, Neos addressed the team while fixing his hair. "Man, I gotta admit, it's pretty amazing how many friends we've made here so far."

"I agree. I've really enjoyed the time that we've spent with Team RWBY and Team JNPR." Ryu added.

Gwen smiled. "And no matter what, these friendships will last for a lifetime."

Damien nodded. "That's right. And that is why, today I propose we spend the day together!"

"Wait, you mean just the four of us?" Ryu questioned.

"That's right, Ryu. Since we've been spending more time with other teams, I figure we should do the same." Damien explained.

The other three team members thought for a moment, as they all nodded in agreement. "Well, okay sure. That sounds like a great idea!" Gwen cheered.

Neos grinned, while rolling his eyes. "So, what should we do first?" The ex-rogue asked his crimson haired pal, as the four of them walked outside the campus.

Damien thought for a moment. "Well, the first thing I usually like to do is start with a little training."

"In that case, I have a small training routine I think will surely do the trick." Ryu addressed, as he pulled out a blindfold, much to everyone's wonder. "My uncle taught me this technique, to sharpen one's senses!" He explained while putting on the blindfold.

Damien knew where he was going as Ryu instructed him to toss a couple of rocks at the blindfolded samurai. Ryu was able to deflect the projectiles with ease. "Wow, that's amazing! Can I try?"

Ryu chuckled, as he handed the blindfold to his leader. "Sure Damien. Remember, just trust your senses." He explained, as he tossed a few more rocks at him, with Damien being able to bash them with his fists. "Very nice! Gwen, would you like to go next?"

Gwen was surprised, but she decided to try. "Um, okay..."

"Remember Gwen, just listen to the sound of the rocks approaching." Damien explained.

Gwen was hesitant, but she took a deep breath as she dodged all the rocks. "Wow! I did it!" She cheered as she handed the blindfold to Neos.

Neos was skeptical about this exercise, as when he put on the blindfold, he was pelted with a few rocks. "OW! This is dumb! You can't even see where the rocks are coming!" He growled.

"You're not supposed to use your eyes!" Ryu explained. "You're supposed to use your ears."

"Forget using sight, Neos. Focus on your other senses." Damien added.

Neos sighed before he resumed his position. As the rocks came flying at him, he dodged a few, before kicking a stone that went flying over him. "Huh, not bad." He admitted. "Say, if we're done training, can we get a bite to eat?"

Everyone nodded, as they all went to explore Vale. As they entered the Cineplex, they all purchased some popcorn, soda, and other various snacks. Team DRGN sat together as they watched Batman vs. Superman.

After the movie finished, the four exited the theatre while discussing their opinions. "Well, it was certainly something interesting." Gwen sheepishly said.

"I don't know, I found the plot to be deeply flawed." Ryu nodded.

"True, but the effects were decent!" Neos pointed out.

As the day continued, they spent the rest of the afternoon at a amusement park, where they all partook in various rides, which ended in Ryu winning Gwen a large stuffed teddy bear. "Ooh, thank you Ryu; I love this gift!" She squealed, as the four of them walked back to beacon. "I've never seen someone with such precision at the ring toss before."

Ryu laughed as he hugged Gwen. "Well, it's all in the technique." He replied, as his partner hugged him back.

Neos rolled his eyes, while giggling. "Aw, how sweet." Which caused Damien to laugh, as Ryu and Gwen blushed at each other. "Well Damien, I gotta admit, this was a pretty fun day."

Damien smiled, as Team DRGN approached their dorm. "I agree! I don't know how this day could get any better." He mentioned as he opened the door. To their surprise, when they turned on the light, they saw Teams RWBY and JNPR waiting for them.

"Surprise!" They all shouted.

Team DRGN looked around with stunned faces. "Whoa! What is all this?" Damien commented upon seeing the tables with snacks, as well as the balloons and a large banner that read "THANK YOU TEAM DRGN! :)".

Yang grinned while stepping forward. "Well, you guys really helped us out these past few days, and we wanted to repay you!"

"This looks amazing! How did you all pay for this?" Gwen pondered.

Pyrrha stepped up. "Simple. When Ruby and Yang came to us with this idea, we all decided to pitch in and help."

"Wait a minute, how exactly did you even get inside our room?" Ryu questioned with a raised eyebrow.

The eight teens looked uneasy at each other before Neos broke the tension while bumping his shoulder. "Hey c'mon Ryu, don't question it! They went though this trouble just for us! Besides..." He paused to sniff the food. "The food's smells scrumptious!"

Ryu sighed, before giving me a small smile since he didn't want to ruin it. "You're right. Thank you, everyone. It all looks amazing!" He bowed to the other two teams, who quickly regained their cheers.

"Let's party!" Nora declared, as everyone enjoyed the party. Ruby, Neos, and Jaune played video games; Damien, Yang, and Nora had a chugging contest with a couple of soda cans; Weiss and Gwen were gushing over the giant stuffed animal that Gwen got from the amusement park; and Ryu, Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake were having fun shooting the breeze.

After the party ended, Teams RWBY and JNPR decided to stick around to help Team DRGN clean up. As the clean-up was underway, Damien decided to go for a walk. As he exited the room, Yang immediately followed him outside. "Hey, where are you off to?" She wondered.

"Eh, I just wanted to go for a walk around Campus? Wanna join me?" Damien smiled.

"Sure!" Yang smiled back, as the two strolled through the evening in Beacon. "Man, that was one heck of a party, wasn't it?"

"I'll say. I never partied that hard in my life!" The crimson haired lad chuckled. "I still can't believe you guys did all of that for us."

"Well duh. You guys are the greatest friends we've ever met!" Yang smiled back, her eyes shining towards his. "Besides, I've never seen Ruby enjoy being around a boy for as long as I remember."

Damien was also aware that Neos and Ruby were bonding pretty well before. "That's true. Don't you think they compliment each other?" He smirked towards her.

The blonde boxer giggled, before answering. "They sure do. I mean, I suppose Ruby's old enough to date, but I still have to keep a watchful eye out!" She answered, while punching her knuckles together.

"Wow, you sure are protective of Ruby." Damien replied.

"Well yeah." Yang answered, with a small smile. "After all, with our mother gone, I have to make sure that Ruby's alive and well."

Damien's brown eyes widened what he heard that remark. "Your mother? Why, what happened to her?" He was met with silence, before he decided to ask something else. "Now that I think about it, even though you two are sisters, first glance does say otherwise. Any ideas why?" After seeing Yang's eyes closed, Damien grew worried. "Forget I asked. It was dumb of me to interfere with personal details!"

"Nah, I'll tell you. I know I can trust you enough." Yang looked at his eyes, as she got ready to tell the story. She explained that Ruby and her were half-sisters, and how her birth-mother, Raven Branwen, disappeared when she was little. She then explained how she dragged her little sister to search for her, and how they would have almost gotten themselves killed by beowolves if their uncle, Qrow, hadn't saved them at the last minute.

"I see. Such a traumatic experience can change anybody like that." Damien stated after hearing Yang's story.

"Yeah, but even so, I won't give up." Yang looked upwards with her fist clenched. "I know she's out there, and I will find her!" Yang was caught off-guard when Damien put his hand on her shoulder.

"I can understand that and I know you will, but even so, I don't think Ruby has to worry too much about it. After all, as long as you're there to look after her, I'm certain she'll be just fine." Yang looked shocked as Damien gave her a reassuring smile. "You two have such a strong bond, and as long as you have each other, you'll be able to get through anything."

Yang smiled back as she put her free arm on Damien's other shoulder. "Thanks. I know you and Neos have a bond just as strong as ours." Damien smiled back at that comment. "I'll say it again, I'm glad me and Ruby met the two of you. I think the four of us will be the best of friends."

"Thanks Yang, I feel the same way." Damien answered back. The two of them closed their eyes, and embraced each other, not letting go for several long minutes. While continuing to hug, Damien lost his balance, which caused him to fall on his back, with Yang landing directly on top of him. "Um, whoops!" That was all he could say with a weak chuckle.

Yang giggled too "No worries!" She replied, before noticing how close their faces were to one another. They stared into each other's eyes, as they quickly broke away, with heavy blushes on their faces. After regaining their composure, Yang quickly replied. "So, we should probably head back now."

"Yeah..." Damien chuckled again. "C'mon, let's go. I'm sure everyone's waiting for us."

Yang complied as the two of them returned to Team DRGN's dorm room. As Damien entered, he raised his soda glass up into the air. "I wanna propose a toast; to all the wonderful friends I've seen here. To Team RWBY, to Team JNPR, and to my friends at Team DRGN. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!" He warmly smiled, as he closed his eyes.

"Aw, stop it, you big lug, or else you're gonna make me start too!" Neos replied. "Here Here!" He raised his glass up too, as did everyone else. Once everything was cleaned up, they all headed to sleep, with heavy smiles on their faces. With bonds like these, these three teams were unbreakable!

* * *

 **Whew! That should do it, the lost chapter is complete! I hope you enjoyed that. In case you're still wondering why I have labeled this as a lost chapter, allow me to explain. For any new readers or followers who are just tuning in to this story, this chapter was not included in the original version, hence, this was something I've decided to insert in between chapters. I'm going to continue reworking some of the chapters until everything is straightened out. Until then, I'll see you all next time!**


	11. Chapter 11: The White Fang - Part 1

**Hello, welcome back to the next chapter of my story. I decided to expand further on this chapter. I'm trying to follow the whole story arc, but at some point, I will break free from it.**

* * *

Friday morning had arrived, and Damien was already up. He thought about waking up his pal as usual, but before he removed the pillow, he heard a voice under it.

"If you try anything, so help me I will end you!" Neos yelled, causing Damien to laugh out loud as he backed away from his pal.

"Okay, take it easy. We don't even have classes today. Besides, I'm just gonna head to the training grounds." Damien pointed towards the door.

Neos gave him a thumb's up still lying down, while Gwen happily waved to him, and Ryu meditating on the mat.

After Damien left, the ex-rogue decided to get up, as he got changed and addressed his teammates. "So, what's for breakfast I wonder?" He asked himself.

"Well, if you're interested, we're actually going over to eat breakfast at Team JNPR's room." Ryu explained. "Care to join us?"

Neos' eyes widened. "Sure!" He whooped as the three of them walked to the room in front of them.

Ryu knocked on the door, as Jaune opened it. "Hey guys! Come on in; breakfast is served!" He announced as the three of them greeted Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora who happily waved back in return.

"Neos, so nice of you to join us!" Pyrrha warmly greeted. "I thought you'd usually be with Damien."

Neos smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, he's busy doing some training, and hey, who am I to turn down breakfast?" One whiff of Ren's homemade pancakes was enough to set him off. "Oh man, those pancakes are to die for!"

Ren chuckled while rolling his eyes, while Nora pumped her fist in the air. "I know right?! Ren makes the best pancakes in the world!" She grinned back at the ex-rogue. "Wanna see who can eat the most?"

"Bring it!" Neos accepted the challenge as the two of them started scarfing down on as many pancakes as they could; while Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Ryu, and Gwen all stared awkwardly, before laughing and returning to their own meal. After the eat-off ended, Neos was holding his stomach, while Nora stretched her arms before letting out a big belch. "Man, I don't know how you manage to stuff down all those pancakes Nora..." He mumbled.

"Never stand between Nora and pancakes." Words of wisdom spoken from Lie Ren.

"Anywho, how about we all spend the day in downtown Vale?" Pyrrha asked, as Ryu and Gwen accepted the invite. "Neos, are you gonna be all right by yourself?"

Neos waved his hand. "Nah, it's cool. You guys go ahead, I'll wait until Damien comes back. Besides, I gotta go lie down and digest this meal..." He winced, as his gut was rumbling. As Team JNPR departed with Ryu and Gwen, Neos tried to hobble over to his room, before eventually collapsing onto the hallway floor. "Ugh..." He groaned.

As Neos laid there, he heard a familiar voice. "Let me guess. Nora challenged you to a pancake eating contest?" He lifted his head and saw Ruby staring at him.

"Mmm-hmm..." He nodded, as Ruby giggled before helping him up.

"C'mon Neos, you can relax in our room." She offered.

Neos smiled. "Thanks Ruby." He answered, as the two of them entered Team RWBY's dorm. Blake and Weiss turned to greet Neos. "Blake, snowflake." He greeted the two, to which the latter replied in slight offense. He looked around and noticed something that intrigued him. "Bunk beds?"

"Yes, I know, they aren't too safe..." Weiss replied.

"Are you kidding? That looks awesome! Why did I think of that?!" He cheered, earning some giggles from Ruby and Blake, while Weiss rolled her eyes. "Oh wow, nice TV! Say, would it be all right if I bring my video game system here?"

Ruby's eyes brightened when she heard that. "Ooh okay!" She squealed, as the two of them dashed to Team DRGN's dorm room to bring their Wii U to Team RWBY's room.

Once they hooked everything up, the two started to play some video games, with Blake and Weiss passing on the offer. "So, where's Yang at right now?" Neos wondered.

"She went to the training grounds to do a little work-out." Blake answered, while reading her book.

"Really? Well Damien went over there as well." Neos replied.

"No kidding." Ruby said. "I wonder how those two are doing right now?"

At the training grounds, there were some students practicing their combat skills, some doing some stretches. While Damien got settled, he stood upside down and did 1,000 handstand push ups. "…998… 999… 1,000! Whew!" Damien exclaimed as he got back on his feet. He removed his sweat covered shirt and took a swig from his water bottle, when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Well now, this is a pleasant surprise." Damien turned to see Yang, who was also there to work out.

"Hey there, Yang. I didn't know you liked to work out this early." Damien said, as he stared straight at Yang's well-toned abs, rubbing his chin. "Hell-looooo…" He said with a giant grin on his face.

Yang noticed Damien staring at her like that, while at the same time, she was checking out his muscular upper body which was dripping with sweat. "Ooh, mama likes what she sees." She smirked, hands on her hips.

After the two stopped staring at each other, faces red from embarrassment, the two decided to have a quick sparring match. After the match ended, they went to the respective change rooms to shower, and change back to their everyday clothes. Afterwards, the two exited the training grounds, while starting to walk back to their dorms.

"Wow! That match was intense!" Damien chuckled. "You're one hell of a fighter, Yang!"

"Thanks Damien. I gotta admit, you pretty damn tough as well" Yang laughed back. "I can't believe that ended in a draw though."

"Well, it was pretty close though." They continued reminiscing until they entered Team RWBY's room, where they noticed Ruby and Neos playing video games together.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the happy punching couple." Neos smirked as he, and the three girls turned to greet the two. The two boxers blushed, as Ruby and Blake both giggled at his remark, with even Weiss struggling to hold in a laugh.

"Shut up!" Damien shouted at his smiling pal.

"And what exactly are you doing here?" Yang wondered, arms crossed.

"Well, Ruby had this cool television and I thought it'd be a cool idea to bring the old game system to her room." Neos replied.

"We have room for two more. Wanna play?" Ruby asked.

"Sure, I'll play a few rounds!" Damien replied.

"Yeah, me too!" Yang added, as the two sat down.

"By the way, Damien. We need to get bunk beds later on!" Neos declared.

"Huh?" Damien wondered, before looking around the room and realizing why. "Ah, you know, that might actually be a good idea!" He agreed, as Ruby and Yang giggled.

The four of them started playing some Mario Party, while Blake sat on her bed reading her book.

Weiss got off from the top bunk bed, and looked around the group, arms on her hips. "Look at you all. Are we really just going to be stuck here all day?"

While the four were too wrapped in their game, Blake looked up to the heiress. "Well, what do you suggest we do?"

Weiss held up a newspaper article. "Well, according to this, fighters all over from the other kingdoms should be arriving at the docks of Vale this afternoon."

"So?" Blake asked, not really interested.

"So, I think this would be the perfect opportunity to take a look around, and see how the good people of this town have decorated for the Vytal Festival Tournament. What do you say?" Her question was met with silence, as everyone was too busy enjoying their game.

Clearly not amused with not being noticed, Weiss walked over to the TV, and unplugged the video game system, much to the group's annoyance and anger. "Listen, we can't just sit around here, doing nothing! We need to go out and look around." She stated in a nagging mother tone.

"Look guys, clearly she isn't going to stop until we all obey, so let's just get this over with." Blake sighed as she closed her book.

The other four let out a big groan as they never got to finish their game. "Hey, can we hang out with you guys for today?" Neos asked the group.

"Shouldn't you be with your team?" Yang questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Gwen and Ryu went out with Team JNPR for the day, so they'll be back later on this evening." Neos said, with a wave of his hand.

"All right, you guys can come." Ruby smiled at the boy.

"Thanks. You're such a sweetheart." Neos hugged Ruby, making her blush. The six got up to head to the streets of Vale.

As they reached the streets of Vale, they saw that some streamers and balloons have been hung up in preparation for the upcoming festival, as well as a big banner that read "Welcome to Vale." The six looked around while Weiss was simply awed with what they saw.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss proclaimed, still feeling astounded.

Ruby smiled at the heiress. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Her smile turned into a small frown. "It's kind of weirding me out…"

Weiss turned to face the red head. "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" She cheered with glee.

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Yang sighed, crossing her arms.

"Quiet you!" The group reached the docks, as they heard the sound of a foghorn.

Damien asked with a bored look on his face. "So, remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon on these stupid docks?"

Neos covered his nose with his scarf, as he spoke with a cross tone. "Ugh, this place reeks of fish!"

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss huffed in a dignified tone.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake stated in a flat tone.

Weiss scoffed at that statement. "You can't prove that!"

"Hey guys, take a look over there." Everyone turned to see Damien pointing towards a Dust shop that seemed to have been broken into, with two Vale police officers examining the crime scene.

"Whoa." Ruby remarked as the group ran towards the shop. "What happened here?" She asked one of the detectives.

The officers explained that this was the second Dust store that was robbed this week, however, instead of stealing any money, the only thing that was taken was the Dust. Therefore, the only culprit they could think of was The White Fang.

"Hmph! The White Fang." Weiss glared upwards, crossing he arms. "What an awful bunch of degenerates!"

Blake, turned to Weiss, looking somewhat offended. "What's your problem?"

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss answered, surprised at Blake for defending them. The two of them argued for several minutes, until they heard a shouting voice coming from the docks.

They looked to see that a blonde monkey Faunus had snuck onto the ship. His shirt was opened, exposing his abs, as he hung from a nearby street lamp with his tail.

"Hey, a no good stowaway would have been caught. I'm a great stowaway!" The monkey boy proudly stated, eating a banana he swiped. He threw the peel on the detective's face, as he leapt and ran from his pursuers. But not before giving a quick wink to a shocked Blake.

"So Blake, who's the boyfriend?" Neos smirked to the annoyed bowed girl.

"He's not! I've never met him!" Blake shouted, sounding really miffed.

"I don't know, he seems to know you quite well. Is he an acquaintance of yours?" Damien asked, out of curiousity.

Before Blake could answer, Weiss interrupted. "Quick! We have to observe him!" She gave chase, but she tripped on something, causing her to sights on him.

"Weiss!" Damien exclaimed, as he helped her up. "Hmm?" He pointed to a strange girl, with a strange hairstyle, and a strange outfit. She was truly… interesting.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" The girl cheerfully replied, still lying on the ground.

"Um… hello." Ruby waved awkwardly to the girl.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked, also feeling weirded out.

"I'm wonderful, thank you are asking!" The mysterious girl answered, still having the same face.

The six faced each other, astonished at this girl's behaviour. "Well, maybe you should get up." Neos remarked.

"Good idea!" The girl said, getting off the ground. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Everyone introduced themselves, before Ruby bid Penny farewell. "Take care, friend." The group quickly walked away, with Yang gossiping about how weird she was. However, Penny immediately showed up in front of the group, completely surprising them.

"What did you call me?" Penny asked, eyes narrowed.

Yang quickly apologized. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think you heard me."

"Not you. You!" Penny explained, facing Ruby. "You called me, friend. Am I really your friend?"

Ruby hesitated when she saw Weiss, Blake, Yang, Damien, and Neos all waving 'no.' "Uh, yeah sure… Why not?" She smiled nervously, causing everyone else to face-fault.

Penny was overjoyed to hear that Ruby was indeed her friend, before Weiss interrupted, focusing on the task at hand. "Excuse me, but have you seen that filthy monkey Faunus?"

Blake, having enough of Weiss's attitude, spoke venomously, "Why do you keep calling him that?!"

Everyone turned to see Blake walking angrily towards the heiress. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He is a person!"

Weiss, surprised at her defending him, angrily yelled back. "That's exactly what he is! He clearly broke the law; it's only a matter of time before he gets captured!"

Eventually, the argument heated up into a full-blown war between Blake and Weiss, while Ruby, Yang, Damien, and Neos watched on awkwardly. They argued all day and all evening, even on the way back to Team RWBY's dorm room.

"So, we're just gonna head back to our room." Damien whispered to Yang, as he motioned towards their door. Yang and Ruby nodded quickly, as the boys dashed in.

The two boys sighed, as Ryu and Gwen greeted them. "So, how'd your day go?" Ryu asked them.

"Oh y'know…" Damien said, while still hearing the argument going on next door.

"Is everything alright?" Gwen asked, concerned with how Team RWBY was at the moment. "What happened?"

Neos explained the story, as Damien leaned his head towards the wall, wanting to listen in to what was happening.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss said.

"That is the problem!" Blake answered.

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, which force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like me?"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" Weiss yelled as there was moment of silence. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood. So, do you really want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake yelled as there was another moment of silence, following by some noises of moving around.

"Whoa." Neos remarked, as he was also listening in. "So, Blake was a member of the White Wang?"

"Looks that way." Damien nodded.

"Well, so what? I was a rogue too, until I changed my ways." Neos commented, eyes narrowed.

Damien looked out the window to see Blake walking towards a statue on Campus. "Let me go talk to her."

Ryu asked. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"Believe me, I know exactly how she's feeling right now." Damien stated.

"Okay, well just let Blake know that she's still our friend, no matter what." Gwen said, as Damien nodded before walking out. As Damien walked outside, he saw Blake staring at a statue.

"Hey, you alright?" Damien called out to Blake, who turned to face him.

"Hi Damien." Blake commented, eyes narrowed as she was not in the mood.

"Listen Blake, I don't know much about your past, but even so, I can always lend a fellow Faunus a hand." Damien smiled, facing Blake's bow.

Blake looked shocked. "Y-you know what I am?"

Damien nodded. "I know _who_ you are. You are who you are, and you can't change that. But you should never be ashamed of yourself."

Blake turned around to face the statue, as she gave a heavy sigh. She reached for her bow and untied it, revealing a pair of cat ears, which were drooped down in sadness. Damien put a comforting hand on her shoulder, as the Faunus started to cry.

"Shh, it's going to be alright." Damien whispered into her ear, pulling her into an embrace, with Blake continuing to sob onto his shoulder. "I want you to know that no matter what happened in your past, none of us think any different of you."

"Y-you don't?" Blake whimpered.

Damien smiled. "Of course. Did you forget that Neos was a rogue before, and that I also know the hardships Faunus go through? I promise you Blake, you're not alone..." He gently whispered, while continuing to hold the Faunus. Blake wiped away the tears, while still sniffling.

"I knew you looked better without the bow." The two faced upward to see the monkey Faunus hanging from a building, as he jumped downwards from his spot and walked towards the two.

"Oh, you're the Faunus from before. I never got your name." Damien asked.

"The name's Sun Wukong." The blonde monkey said with a smirk.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Damien Crimson." He said as they shook hands.

"So, Damien. I never would have thought a human like yourself would treat the Faunus with such kindness like that."

"On the contrary, I'm actually half-Faunus myself." Damien explained, causing Sun to stumble back a bit. "But even so, I know exactly what the Faunus have gone through." He explained the same story that he told his friends a few days ago.

After finishing his story, Sun regained his composure as he smiled back at him. "Well, I'll say this. Even if you are half-Faunus or no-Faunus, you've still got a heart of a fully-fledged Faunus. And in my book, that makes you part of our herd!"

Damien smiled when he heard this. "Thanks Sun. That means a lot to me."

Blake spoke up, after staying quiet. "Anyways, what are you doing here?" She asked Sun.

"Oh, I just wanted to get to know you." Sun answered the cat-Faunus.

"All right, I'll just leave the two of you alone." Damien smirked as he waved good-night to the two, heading back to his dorm.

Before he entered his room, he heard Yang call out to him. "Hey."

"Oh hi." Damien replied back.

"So, I'm assuming you heard the argument between Weiss and Blake?" The blonde boxer asked the crimson haired lad, who nodded back. "I really hope Blake's okay."

"I hope so too." Damien said, as the two went to bed.

Morning came, and Ruby saw that Blake still hadn't come back. While she and Yang were dismayed over her, Weiss was still annoyed at the fact that she hid her involvement with the White Fang.

"C'mon, we need to go and find her! We have to find our teammate!" Ruby stated.

"Are you sure about that?" Weiss coldly stated. "She was a White Fang member all this time, and she hid this from us!"

Yang quickly reprimanded her and walked to the door. "Regardless, she's still our teammate, and she's missing! We need to go and look for her!" She opened the door and saw Damien and Neos standing there.

"Hey, are you guys going to go find Blake?" Neos asked the trio, which Ruby and Yang nodded.

"Well, we'll help you out." Damien explained to the group, as the six went out to find their missing friend.

* * *

 **Here you go, that was something. I decided to add that moment of them playing Mario Party, since in Volume 3, there was a moment where Qrow, Ruby and Yang played video games. By the way, I'm not going to bother explaining the outfits of any new characters for the story.**


	12. Chapter 12: The White Fang - Part 2

**Welcome back to my RWBY OC Story. In this chapter, the five continue their search for Blake. Also, something big happens in the end, so read on to find out.**

* * *

As the five set out to find their missing friend, everyone except Weiss was calling her name.

"This is pointless. She obviously went out to be with her delinquent friend, and now she and the White Fang are going to kill us." Weiss said, dismissively.

"You know, you're making Blake look like she's no better than I was." Neos pointed out.

"There's a difference Neos. The White Fang's crimes go up to a higher scale compared to yours." Weiss refuted.

"Look, we should at least hear her side of the story before jumping to conclusions." Yang stated, sternly.

"Why bother? It's clear that she was and probably still is, a White Fang member. Those accursed Faunus…"

"That's enough!" Damien turned to face Weiss angrily. "Just because the White Fang have committed atrocious deeds does not give you the right to label all Faunus as criminals!"

Weiss was shocked to see Damien talking to her like this, but she angrily faced him back. "Oh, so now you're going to defend the White Fang too? I thought you knew what they had done in the past!"

"Look, I admit it, we've all done things we're not proud of, but you can't label everyone as the same because of one's actions. You need to stop living in the past!" Damien retorted.

Weiss stared at Damien, her face red with anger. "Excuse me?! I'm not living in the past! I know the White Fang are a bunch of criminals, and I won't forgive Blake for bring a criminal!"

"SILENCE!" Damien roared, stomping his foot on the ground, scaring the three girls. "You do not refer to your teammate – your friend – like that, EVER! If Blake truly is still a member of the White Fang, then she would have killed you, and robbed you of all the dust! I know very well that Blake is not like any of those White Fang Faunus, and if you hadn't tore into her like you did before, you would have realized that sooner!" Weiss continued to stand, her hand over her mouth. "I may not know who Blake really is, but I know, without a doubt, that she is a different person than she was before! And if you can't accept that, then I feel sorry for you." Damien glared at the stunned heiress as he started to walk away.

After a moment of thought, Weiss held out her hand as she called him back, "Damien wait!" He turned around to see an apologetic Weiss. "You're right, I should have never condemned all Faunus as lowlifes, I'm sorry. The truth is, I'm angry at Blake; not because of her involvement, but because she didn't tell me, tell us, about her secret. I felt betrayed, because I thought being teammates meant that we could share everything with each other."

Everyone looked sad, as Weiss wiped away a single tear. "I don't care about Blake's past, I just want my friend back!" She confessed to Damien, who eyes were closed and arms were crossed, as he was listening.

Damien comforted the heiress. "Don't worry Weiss, we will. I promise you, things will work out." He smiled as he patted her shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay. Trust me."

Yang smiled proudly at Damien. 'That boy. He's always able to comfort anyone in need. What a truly kind and caring man.' She thought to herself, blushing while thinking about him, with a hand on her heart.

Neos broke the silence. "So, now that that's settled, where do we start looking?"

"I think I have the answer!" The five looked behind and saw Penny with the same cheerful smile from Friday.

"Aah! Penny, where'd you come from?" Ruby asked, startled.

"If you're looking for the Faunus girl, I can help with that!" Penny replied, ignoring the previous question.

"Uh thanks, but we're fine-" Ruby turned and saw Yang and Weiss had vanished, dragging Damien along with them.

'Well that was rude.' Neos thought to himself.

"So, why did Blake run off? Is she still your friend?" Penny wondered.

"Well, I'm hoping she still is." Ruby wondered with a worried tone.

"I don't have a lot of friends. If I did, I'd want them to talk to me about things." Penny said dejectedly, while Ruby glumly agreed and Neos rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, as the sun began to set, Yang, Weiss, and Damien were searching near a shop.

"Hey, why did you have to drag me like that?" Damien said, being pulled by Yang and Weiss.

"Because, we still need your help to find Blake." Yang reminded him.

"That's right. You said you had a lead on finding her. So, what do we do?" Weiss demanded, arms crossed.

"Oh… yeah. Well, it's simple. If we find Sun Wukong, then we'll be able to find Blake." Damien mentioned, feeling confident.

The two girls looked at each other, before facing Damien with a confused look on their faces. "And how exactly do you propose that?" Weiss questioned, breaking the boy's concentration.

"Uhh… well. We… hmm… bananas?" Damien completely lost his train of thought, as his mind was a blank.

"You have no idea where she is, do you?" Yang answered, both girls staring at him.

"I'm sorry! I don't know. I honestly thought it would be that easy!" Damien confessed, as both girls face-palmed.

"This is hopeless!" Weiss muttered. Suddenly, the three heard an explosion, coming from the loading docks. They ran over to the scene of the action.

At the same time, Ruby, Neos, and Penny had already reached the docks, while climbing up the top of the roof, to find the source. They saw Blake and Sun were fighting off some White Fang members, who were being commanded by none other than the criminal lord, Roman Torchwick. It turned out he was the one responsible for the Dust robberies that had occurred all across Vale.

Deciding to lend their pals a hand, Ruby and Neos armed themselves, while getting Torchwick's attention.

"Well hello there, kids. Isn't it past your bedtime?" He smirked at the group.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny asked, obliviously.

"Penny, get back!" Ruby ordered, diverting her attention which allowed Torchwick to fire a shot from his cane gun, knocking her back, and causing her to almost fall from the rooftop. "AAAHH!"

"RUBY!" Neos screamed as he ran over to pull her up to safety. "Are you alright?!" He pulled her up, and held her tightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." Ruby blushed, as she tried to break free, but she decided to hug back.

Neos didn't care how he was acting. "I'm so glad to hear that!" He was ready to exact vengeance against the crime lord, but Penny was already walking towards them. "Wait! What are you doing?"

Penny turned towards the two, and gave a smile. "Don't worry. I'm combat ready!" She assured them.

She glared back the criminal organization, as a bunch of blades appeared right behind Penny. She flung the swords at the White Fang goons, knocking them out. The blades all spun around in a circle, as she created a giant laser beam, destroying one of the nearby helicopters. Finally, she moved the swords towards a second helicopter, dragging it towards a third helicopter, causing them both to explode upon impact. Ruby and Neos both looked on in amazement.

Roman, annoyed that his plans were ruined, fired a flare from his weapon to distract the group, allowing him to escape onto a fourth helicopter.

After the commotion died down, several police cars dashed onto the scene, with Ruby, Blake, Sun, Penny, and Neos all resting on some crates near the docks. Then Yang, Weiss, and Damien made it to the scene.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Damien asked, looking at the charred helicopter remains.

"It's a long story." Neos was about to explain, before they saw Weiss walking towards Blake, her face looking angry.

Ruby panicked, as she tried to calm down the heiress. "Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..."

"Weiss, I want you to know that I no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when-" Blake was about to explain, when Weiss cut her off.

"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided… That I don't care." Weiss stated to the confused Faunus.

Blake didn't know what to say. "You don't care?"

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" Weiss asked.

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-" Blake explained before being interrupted again.

"Then I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some… Someone else." The heiress finished.

Blake turned to see Ruby, Yang, Damien, and Neos all grinning towards her, as she happily wiped away a tear. "Of course."

Weiss smiled and nodded back.

"Yay, team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheered, breaking the silence.

Weiss turned to face Sun. "I'm not sure how I feel about you though." She pointed towards him, as everyone else laughed nervously.

"Hey, did anyone see where Penny ran off to?" Neos asked. Penny was being driven away in a limo, while the driver scolded her for sneaking off like that, while assuring her that her time will come.

During the reunion, Damien noticed earlier how Ruby was tightly holding Neos, as he decided to tell him. "Hey now, what's with you getting all familiar with Ruby?"

"For your information, Ruby almost fell off of that building!" Neos explained.

Damien's eyebrows widened when he heard that. "Whoa! Well, good thing you saved her."

The ex-rogue smiled while his face reddened. "Yeah, I don't know how I could have lived with myself if something had happened to her..."

The crimson haired lad realized what his pal had said. "Is that right? Well, did you tell Ruby that?" Neos shook his head at that statement, before Damien gave him an idea. "In that case, perhaps this would be the perfect chance to confess your feelings towards her."

Neos' blush deepened, before a thought occurred to him. "Just one small problem though..." He said, looking towards Ruby's sister.

"You mean Yang?" Damien wondered.

"Yeah. I mean, she's Ruby's older sister and everything. I really don't think she'd stand for a former rogue like me dating her younger sis." Neos explained.

"Dude, I guarantee she wouldn't mind at all." Damien assured him, putting his hand on his shoulder. "If you wanna make sure, maybe address the situation to Yang first, before talking to Ruby."

After everyone returned to Beacon, there was a knock at the door at Team RWBY's room. Yang opened the door to see Neos standing there. "Neos? What are you doing here?"

"Hey Yang, is Ruby here?" Neos asked the blonde.

"No, she said she wanted to go outside for some fresh air." Yang replied.

"I see... Can I talk to you outside for a minute?" The ex-rogue asked.

Yang raised an eyebrow before answering. "Okay."

Once the two were outside in the halls, Neos paced back and forth before spilling the truth. "Listen, there's something I really need to tell you. Promise me you won't get mad?"

Yang crossed her arms, before answering. "I promise."

Neos took a few deep breaths before answering. "Hoo boy... Okay. This isn't easy to say, so I'm going to just come right out with it. So here goes...!"

He was about to speak, but Yang knew where he was going, and decided to answer immediately. "Yes, I give you permission to date my sister."

The ex-rogue was completely caught off-guard when he heard that statement, as he almost fell flat on his face. "Y-you what?"

Yang giggled before speaking. "Ruby told me all about the times that you've saved her, and you know what? I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she's in good hands with you, Neos. Therefore, I am totally fine with you dating Ruby!" She smiled, before speaking with red eyes. "Just don't break her heart, or I'll break you!"

Of course, the ex-rogue was too happy to feel scared by Yang's threat. "Oh man, thank you, Yang. THANK YOU!" Neos cheered, while twirling Yang around. He then dashed across the hallway, skipping with glee. "Ya-hoo!"

Damien poked his head out from his room, before grinning towards Yang. "I'm guessing he took the news pretty well?"

Yang chortled before nodding. Eventually, the rest of Teams RWBY and DRGN walked towards the balcony, to see how fate will end up for the two of them.

Later on that night, Ruby was looking out towards the Beacon statue at the grounds, thinking about all that had happened. Neos walked over towards Ruby, as he put a hand on her shoulder, catching her off-guard.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Neos asked, smirking towards her.

"Hi Neos, I'm fine, thanks." Ruby smiled back at the boy.

After a moment of hesitation, Neos finally decided to speak his mind. "Listen, I was thinking about what happened back there on the roof. The moment when Torchwick almost knocked you off the edge, it got me thinking, and I realized…" Ruby faced him, wondering where he was going with this. "That I don't know how I would have felt if you were killed." Ruby's eyes widened when she heard it.

"Neos, what are you saying?" She asked.

"I'm saying… You mean the world to me." He stated, closing his eyes. "When we first met, you didn't care that I was a rogue in the past. You always saw the good in me, and as we fought together, I realized that I wanted to protect you, more than just as a friend. The truth is, I think you're the kindest girl I have ever met, and you have tremendous skill too!"

Ruby looked shocked when she heard this, her face blushing. "Wait a moment… Are you asking me out?"

The spiky-haired boy opened his eyes, when he realized what he said. "Uh… you don't have to if you're not comfortable. I know I'm not the gentlest of souls, and I…" Neos was interrupted when he felt Ruby kissing his cheek, causing him to flare up. "W-what? I don't understand…"

Ruby giggled at the flustered boy. "Neos, I'm old enough to know how to date boys." She closed her eyes, and smiled warmly. "Besides, I actually really like you too. You're the sweetest boy I have ever met. Nothing will change my opinion about you."

Neos was astonished when he heard that, but he grinned widely afterwards. "Oh Ruby, I'm so happy to hear you say that." The two embraced each other warmly, as their foreheads touched. "I promise I will always keep you safe; to never leave you alone." Neos whispered into the girl's ears.

After several minutes of not letting go, the two turned to head into their dorm rooms, as the other members of Team RWBY and Team DRGN looked on from Team RWBY's balcony, all smiling warmly. After they rejoined their team, the two held their hands and announced that they were going out, much to their joy.

After everything that has happened, the two were now together. And the future looked bright for Ruby and Neos.

* * *

 **There you go. Ruby and Neos are now a couple; I hereby dub them "Lightning Rose!" And in case you're wondering, these two are not going to be the only couples in the story. Also, this may or not be the last chapter that I rework. Like I mentioned before, there will be a few extra chapters that I'll place here, just to fill any blanks that I've missed along the way. Anyways, this marks the end of the Volume 1 Arc, tune in next time for the Volume 2 Arc.**


	13. Chapter 13: Trial by Ice and Wind

**Good day everyone, it's been a while since I did a lost chapter. For this chapter, I think it's time I addressed how Ryu and Gwen's relationship came into full effect. The idea came to me a while ago, and I've decided to make it worth as much as possible. Here we go!**

* * *

"Wow, so Blake was actually a Faunus the whole time?" Gwen gasped, as Damien and Neos told their teammates about the incident last night.

"Yeah, pretty much." Neos nodded.

Ryu folded his arms, while listening. "Hmm, it was so obvious; and yet, with a simple bow, she was able to cover it up."

"Yup. Blake said we could tell you guys, since Team RWBY plans to tell Team JNPR about it, but she doesn't want any of us spilling her secret to anyone else." Damien explained, before looking to the lighter side. "Anyways, on to more important business matters..." He spoke in a serious spoke. "How do you guys feel about bunk beds!" He cheered, much to Ryu's and Gwen's surprise.

"Bunk beds?" Ryu tilted his head.

"Oh yeah!" Neos remembered. "Ruby's team had bunk beds in her room, and me and Damien think it would be a good idea for us to do the same."

"I don't know, doesn't that seem dangerous?" The swordsman questioned.

"Oh I think it would be a great idea!" Gwen smiled. "It would certainly give our dorm a lot more room."

The crimson haired lad nodded, before adding his two cents in. "Plus, as long as we build some strong enough structures to keep the beds in place, we have nothing to worry about."

Ryu smirked, before shaking his head. "All right then, bunk beds it is." He got up from the chair. "I can carve up some wood to build the frames!"

Damien smiled. "I can craft some nails; my father was a bit of a blacksmith, so this should be no problem!"

Neos shrugged. "I supposed I'll find some tools to actually do the job." The ex-rogue said.

"Wait a minute, what am I supposed to do?" Gwen spoke, as there was no task left for her. "I want to help too!"

Ryu pondered, before putting a hand on the archer's shoulder. "You can help me gather wood for the bunk frames."

Gwen smiled. "Thank you, Ryu!" She hugged him, to which Ryu blushed.

"Aww, how adorable!" Neos joked while nudging Damien's arm, as he rolled his eyes with a small smile. "All right, enough talk, let's get to work!" He cheered before frowning. "Wow, I can't believe I actually said that..." The ex-rogue pouted, which earned a chuckle from everyone in the room.

While Damien and Neos were busy gathering supplies, Ryu and Gwen had finished chopping down some branches to convert into wooden planks. Ryu drew his katana as he got ready to slice a log. "Now, my uncle showed me this technique to make the perfect slice. Watch carefully Gwen, it's all about precision." He hoisted his Yahto blade upwards, as he cut the log into two equally symmetrical pieces.

"That was amazing! I've never seen a perfect slice like that before in my entire life." Gwen squealed. "May I try?"

Ryu was surprised, but he complied. "I suppose you can. Just remember the technique." He reminded her, as he handed her his blade. Gwen was about to slice the log, but Ryu stopped her. "Wait! Your back is too hunched, you'll throw your swing! Straighten your back." Gwen complied, as she about to attempt again. "Wait, your arms aren't straight, you'll cut yourself!" Gwen sighed and straightened her arms, as Ryu gave her the okay for her to swing. However, before she could even slice, Ryu butted in again. "Wait, you aren't holding the blade right! The metal could bounce off and hit you in the eye!"

"Well, how _do_ I do it?" Gwen asked, in an exasperated tone.

Ryu sighed, while rubbing his head. "Sorry about that. It's sort of a dangerous task, and I just want you to be careful."

Gwen gave a small smile, before handing him back the blade. "Perhaps you should do the slicing, I'll carve up the planks." Ryu complied, before the two continued their work.

After time passed, Team DRGN was able to acquire the supplies needed for the handiwork. "Good job, Team! Now that we've got what we need, we can start building!" Damien grinned. "Just one thing though... Does anyone know how to build a bunk-bed frame?" He questioned, as none of them actually had no clue whatsoever.

"Eh, we'll figure it out. Nothing gets a job done better than with trial and error." Neos shrugged.

Team DRGN spent several minutes trying to figure things out. During that time, Ryu and Gwen were trying to attach the bunk bed frames to each bed. "Here Ryu, I can help attach the beds together." Gwen offered.

"Thank you, Gwen. I'll hold the ladder, you slide the frame in." Ryu explained, as Gwen climbed the ladder. "Just be careful not to slip off the ladder." Gwen heeded his words, as she climbed the ladder. As the archer was about to slide the bed into place, the swordsman panicked. "Watch out, Gwen! You'll slip off the ladder if you don't fix your footing!"

Gwen checked her placement on the ladder, but in that split second, the ladder fell down, and Gwen was clinging on the upper bed for dear life. "AAH! Help, I'm going to fall!" She lost her grip and fell on Damien and Neos.

"Gwen! Are you all right?" Ryu asked, as he helped Gwen up. "You need to be more careful."

"Yes Ryu..." Gwen mumbled.

"Yeah, I'm fine too, thanks for asking." Neos grumbled.

Damien laughed nervously. "Uh, maybe we should take a break with construction. We'll sort it out later."

After leaving the bed-mess in their room, Team DRGN decided to unwind with some training in the Emerald Forest. The four of them were able to easily take down a lot of Beowolves and Ursas. "Man, bustin' sure makes me feel good!" Neos shouted.

Meanwhile, Ryu was watching Gwen perform her technique with her ice knight familiar, as they danced around the area, cutting down a Death Stalker like if it were nothing. "Well now, that is certainly some technique. Very nice, Gwen." The samurai complimented her.

"Oh... thank you." The archer smiled and humbly bowed.

"But your technique could use a little improvement." He spoke.

Gwen's smile dropped when she heard that. "I'm sorry?"

"Your arm was limping when you swung it; that would barely faze your enemy when you don't put enough swing into it." Ryu explained, as Gwen quietly nodded. "Also, don't forget to breathe out when you in battle. Even breathing is important in a fight."

As Ryu continued lecturing his partner, Gwen was trembling, before she eventually snapped. "That's enough!"

Ryu was caught off-guard by her outburst, as Damien and Neos turned to see the commotion. "W-What?"

"Stop criticizing me as if I were a mere child, I know what to do!" Gwen shouted, as her temper flared. "All day, you've been lecturing me about every single thing I do, as if everything I'm doing is wrong! Are you implying that I have absolutely no clue?!"

The samurai was speechless. "Of course not, I was simply trying to help-"

The archer shushed him. "I don't need any help! I can learn these things all on my own. I am NOT a delicate little child anymore!"

"Gwen please, I didn't mean to offend, I just wanted to keep you safe." Ryu tried to calm her down.

"I don't need protection, Ryu. Please, just leave me alone!" Gwen concluded, as she ran deeper into the Emerald Forest.

"Gwen, wait!" Damien was about to chase after her, but Neos stopped him.

"Don't. She just needs some time to cool off." Neos explained. "Come on, let's just go back."

As Damien and Neos started to make their way back, Ryu closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and sheathed his blade in shame before retreating.

As Gwen walked through the woods, she immediately started to regret snapping at Ryu. "Agh, I'm so stupid! Why did I yell at him?!" She slumped down. "He was only trying to watch over my safety..." She saw a small squirrel approach her. "Oh little squirrel, am I ungrateful for rebuffing Ryu's concern?" She asked the little critter. However, the squirrel crawled up Gwen's body and managed to steal her necklace. "H-Hey! My necklace! GIVE THAT BACK!" She screamed, as she chased the rodent into a more deeper section of the Emerald Forest.

Meanwhile, as the sun started to set, Ryu was in his meditation pose on top of Beacon Academy, while Damien and Neos were in their mess of a room. "Man, it's getting late, and Gwen still hasn't come back from the Emerald Forest." Damien worried about her. "Lemme call her scroll." He dialed her, but unfortunately, Gwen was way too deep in the woods to get a signal. "No answer!"

Neos was also getting concerned. "That ain't good. And since Ryu hasn't been with her, he has no clue either!"

The crimson haired lad addressed the ex-rogue without a second thought. "Come on, Neos. We gotta go find her!"

"Hold on Damien, we can't look for her ourselves. It's getting dark out, and the two of us can't really find our way back." Neos reminded him. "We're gonna need some help. Better call Ryu and tell him the situation."

Damien nodded as he called Ryu's scroll, but got no answer. "Damn, nothing. Hmm, maybe we should ask Team RWBY for help."

Neos shook his head. "No can do, Ruby told me she went out shopping with Weiss, Blake, and Yang, and they still haven't come back!" The ex-rogue thought, before realizing something. "Team JNPR is still in their dorm room, maybe they can lend us a hand!"

Damien nodded. "Good idea! Let's roll!" He ordered, and he and Neos dashed out.

When they arrived at their dorm, Damien knocked on the door, to which Pyrrha opened the door. "Damien? Neos? Is everything alright?"

Damien sheepishly greeted her, before explaining the predicament. "Hey Pyrrha. So sorry to bother you, but we really need your help."

"Why? What's the problem?" The gladiator asked.

"It's Gwen. She's been in the Emerald Forest for too long, and we can't get a hold of her at all!" Neos explained.

Pyrrha was shocked when she heard that, "What?! That's terrible!"

At the same time, Jaune, Ren, and Nora came to the front door. "Hey guys, what's going on?" Jaune wondered.

"Gwen's missing." The ex-rogue bluntly recapped.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Nora screeched, right into Ren's ear. "Where could she be?!"

"She's lost deep within the Emerald Forest, and we have no idea where she could be." Damien addressed the rest. "Please guys, can you help us find our friend?"

Jaune nodded, with his fist pumped up. "Don't worry, guys, we've got your back! We'll find her."

Ren looked around, before noticing what was aloof. "Um, where is Ryu? I would have figured that he would be here."

Damien and Neos faced each other awkwardly, before revealing the sad truth. "It's a long story, Ren." Damien explained.

As Damien, Neos, and Team JNPR went to quickly retrieve their weapons, they explained what had happened back there. "Whoa, I can't believe Gwen ran off like that..." Jaune commented.

"Yeah. And on top of that, we also don't know about where Ryu is." Damien nodded solemnly. "I'm worried about them, I really don't want our team to fall apart because of this dispute."

"Actually, I think it's less of a dispute, and more like feelings being repressed." Pyrrha deduced, to which everyone understood... except for Jaune.

"Wait, what you do mean by that?" He confusedly asked.

Neos rolled his eyes. "Don't you get it, Jauney-boy? Ryu's concern for Gwen's safety, and Gwen's determination to prove her worth to Ryu, is why these two are so close with each other!"

"I believe these two have had feelings stir for each other for a while now, but neither one has the courage to spit it out." Damien added. "Two opposite feelings, which only strengthens their bonds."

"So in order words, unless Ryu and Gwen sort things out, things will never be the same between them." Ren concluded.

"Wow, it's so romantic! It's like a fairy-tale between star-crossed lovers from other dimensions!" Nora squealed, with stars in her eyes.

After some awkward silence, Jaune spoke up again. "So, is Ryu really planning to avoid Gwen?"

"No, I don't think that's the case." Damien thought carefully. "I think he's struggling with what Gwen told him. He cares deeply for her, but he would also never disobey an order; especially an asinine one."

"Regardless, perhaps we should try and contact him again." Pyrrha asked. "Hopefully, he realizes the truth that is in front of him."

During that time, Ryu was deep in meditation, while his mind was struggling with the words Gwen had said to him. "I am such a fool. If only I hadn't been so overprotective of Gwen; she is more than capable of handling herself." He muttered to himself. He then remembered the words that his uncle had told him on the first day before arriving at Beacon; about not letting his past failures of obeying his father's order to stay in battle rather than protecting his family. Despite driving off his enemies, Ryu's brothers and father were slain.

While Ryu was struggling within himself, he neglected to answer his ringing scroll, as he went to voicemail. "Ryu listen, I know you're still lost in thought about before, but we really need your help." Damien spoke through his scroll. "Gwen's missing in the Emerald Forest, and me and Neos are going to head in there with Team JNPR. Please Ryu, we can't do this without you! Call me back the minute you get this message."

As soon as Ryu heard this message, nothing else mattered at this moment. He knew what he had to do; save Gwen! He dialed his scroll to summon his weapon locker, to which once he retrieved his Yahto Blade, he made a mad dash towards the Emerald Forest.

Damien sighed, as he shook his head. "Still no response..."

"Don't worry, Damien. I'm sure Ryu must have must you." Pyrrha assured him. "Right now, we need to hurry and save Gwen!"

"That's right, the Grimm tend to be much more vicious during nightfall." Ren reminded them, as the six of them advanced towards the forest, where they all called out her name, while fighting off the Grimm that they encountered.

As dusk had arrived, Gwen had finally cornered the squirrel that made off with her mother's necklace. "*Huff* *puff* Come now little squirrel... please... give me back my necklace... nice and easy..." The squirrel tilted its head, before slowly walking towards the archer. "Yes... that's it... just a little closer..." Before the squirrel could reach Gwen, it was instantly devoured by a King Taijitu, much to Gwen's horror. "NOOOOO! MY MOTHER'S NECKLACE!" She screamed with anguish, before turning to anger. "You'll pay for this!" She shouted as she summoned her ice knight.

Ryu saw the flash of blue light, as he ran towards that direction; with Damien, Neos, and Team JNPR far behind them. Gwen controlled the knight's movement, slashing it brutally, while encasing most of it in ice. However, the large serpent Grimm broke free, and wrapped his body around the knight, which Gwen also felt a percentage of the pain due to channeling it. Feeling the exhaustion of running non-stop, Gwen had only one choice of action; with the wave of her hand, the familiar exploded in a large blast of ice, which froze the King Taijitu rock solid before it shattered completely.

"Phew... thank goodness that's over..." The archer breathed out deeply. She slowly walked to pick up her necklace and put it on, but as she tried to exit, her knees gave out due to the lack of strength, before collapsing to the ground. Unfortunately, an Ursa had appeared from the right, and was prepared to strike at the fallen archer. Gwen had no more strength to move, as she laid there, accepting her fate.

Just as all seemed lost for Gwen, Ryu had arrived just in the nick of time, and sliced the Ursa in half with one fatal slash. "Gwen!" The swordman called to his partner. "Are you all right?" He helped her up.

"Yes Ryu... I'm fine..." Gwen assured him, looking to expect a scolding for her recklessness.

"I'm so glad to hear that... I could not bear the thought of losing you." Ryu smiled, as he embraced her.

Gwen was surprised at what she had heard, but she smiled weakly. "Thank you..." She put her hand on his face, as she tried to speak. "Ryu... I... I..." But before she could finish, she passed out from the exhaustion, slumping onto the samurai's chest.

"Gwen? GWEN!" Ryu shouted. "Please... don't leave me!" He shouted frantically, breaking his stoic demeanor.

"Ryu! Gwen!" Damien called out to them, as the team of six arrived just in time. "What happened?!"

"Gwen must have passed out from exhaustion!" Neos pointed out.

Ryu looked over at Gwen, before addressing the team. "Come on, we need to get out of here! NOW!" He shouted, as Ryu carried Gwen.

Once everyone reached the campus grounds, the moonlight was shining brightly in the night sky. After exiting the forest, Gwen regained consciousness, as Teams DRGN and JNPR were overjoyed. "Gwen!" Damien shouted with joy. "Thank Oum you're awake!"

Gwen held her head, before facing everyone. "Damien? Pyrrha? Jaune? What's everyone doing here?" She wondered. "Where am I?"

"You lost consciousness in the Emerald Forest, and passed out." Pyrrha explained.

"Yeah, you would have been a goner, but Ryu saved you from certain doom!" Nora pointed out.

"The only question is, why were you in that quadrant of the forest to begin with?" Jaune asked.

Gwen looked down in shame, before confessing. "A squirrel had stolen my mother's necklace, and I had to get it back no matter what..." The archer said. "I'm sorry for worrying everybody."

"Eh, don't sweat it, Gwen. I would have done the same thing if something made off with my vest." Neos assured her.

Ryu draped his arms around Gwen. "The important thing is that you're safe and sound."

Gwen faced Ryu, and smiled. "Ryu... I need to tell you something..."

"Of course, Gwen. What is it?" Ryu smiled back.

Gwen tried to fight off the tears, as she struggled to stay strong. "I... I... I'm..." After struggling to speak, she broke down and cried. "I'm so sorry!" She cried in Ryu's chest. "I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier today... I never meant to do that at all!" Ryu was surprised at what Gwen was saying, as she held him tightly. "You were only trying to help, and I drove you away! The truth is, I wanted to prove to you that I was capable, but I'm not! I'm sorry, Ryu..."

Everyone was surprised at Gwen's breakdown, but Ryu gently shushed her, before replying. "Come now, Gwen. There's no need to apologize. After all, I'm the one who should be apologizing." He explained while wiping away Gwen's tears. "I've been trying to overprotect you as a means to atone for my past failures, but I already know that you can fend for yourself. After all, I think that you are a strong, kind, and beautiful girl."

Gwen blushed at what she had heard, while Nora cooed in the background. "Ryu, d-do you really mean it?" She asked, as he nodded. "Because I think you are the greatest person I know. Everyday I spend with all of our friends, and with you, I am always feeling the strength to do my best. You give me the encouragement to succeed." She started to shed tears of joy this time. "Oh Ryu, please don't leave me..." She said, as she hugged him again.

Ryu smiled back, as even a few tears rolled down his face. "Worry not, Gwen. I will always be by your side, no matter what." The two of them stared into each other's eyes, as they leaned in closer, eventually culminating in a tender kiss. Damien, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora all happily cheered for their two pals, as Neos and Ren smiled and fist-bumped.

"All's well that end well..." Neos stated, before looking to the side. "And not a moment too soon!"

"We're back!" The two teams looked to see Team RWBY finally arriving from their long day of shopping. "Neos!" Ruby cheered, as she dashed into Neos' arms, tackling him into a big hug. "Ooh, did you miss me?!"

Neos chuckled, as he tussled his girlfriend's hair. "Oh, only a little." He teased.

Yang laughed. "Sorry we're late, we ran into... a few things." Damien chuckled at that statement. "Anyways, did anything happen while we were out?"

The crimson haired lad shrugged his shoulders. "Oh nothing much... except that Ryu and Gwen are now an item."

Weiss squealed at the declaration of live, while Blake simply smiled towards the newest couple. "Congrats, you two."

Ryu nodded in thanks for that, while Gwen let out a yawn. "I sure am beat; I cannot wait to go to sleep."

Ryu and Neos agreed deeply, however, Damien stopped them. "Just one problem." Everyone faced him, before dropping the ball. "We still haven't finished building our bunk beds..." He deadpanned, as all four members of Team DRGN groaned.

"Aw crap!" Neos cursed. "And we still have no freaking clue whatsoever!"

"We'll help you guys out." Yang offered.

"We can help too." Jaune added. "After all, what are pals for?"

Damien grinned at their friends' generosity. "Thanks guys." So, after everyone finished building the bunk beds for Team DRGN, everyone fell asleep like a rock. As for Ryu and Gwen, they were wrapped in each other's arms that night, as they continued to stay in each other's company, knowing that nothing would ever separate them.

* * *

 **And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Ryu and Gwen became a couple. There we go, I certainly hope that was something. Also, as for the bunk beds thing, seeing as I had mentioned it in a previous chapter, I wanted to use that as a basis for establishing the chapter. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it. Take care everyone.**


	14. Chapter 14: Food Fight!

**Hello one and one, and welcome to the REAL start of the Volume 2 Saga. Since I didn't include the food fight in my original version, I decided to try and do so anyways. I couldn't think of much for food-based weapons for my OCs, but after some ideas came to me, I was now able to take a crack at it. Let's roll!**

* * *

The cafeteria was abuzz with activity, as everyone was enjoying their lunch hour during the last few days of the first semester of Beacon Academy. The dynamic dozen, minus Ruby, were watching Neos as he tossed up several pieces of candy, catching them all in his mouth. The friends all applauded as Neos bowed in response. "Thank you! Thank you very much... Now pay up, chumps!" He grinned devilishly as Damien, Yang, Jaune, Ren, and Ryu all grumbled before reaching into their pockets and handing the ex-rogue 20 lien each. "Heh heh heh, pleasure doing business with you." He chuckled, before placing the money into his pocket.

Weiss rolled her eyes, before gloating. "This is why you should never make bets that you know you can't win."

While Nora was tossing grapes into Neos' mouth, Ruby arrived to meet with everybody else, holding a giant binder. "Sister... friends..." She greeted everyone, while 'booping' Neos' nose. "...Boyfriend..." She smiled, as the ex-rogue waved the "Oh stop..." motion, before addressing Weiss by name only, to which the heiress reacted in slight offense. "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

Yang smirked, while whispering to Damien beside her. "This ought to be good." She said as she caught a grape in her mouth, while the crimson haired lad nodded in agreement.

"A dream that one day, the twelve of us will come together, not just as three different teams, but as one big group, and have the most fun anyone has ever had... _ever!"_ Ruby declared.

Weiss noticed the binder Ruby was holding had her name on it, and admonished her for it. "I am not a crook." She quoted from a certain political figure in response.

"Dare I ask what exactly do you have plan for this day, Ruby?" Ryu asked.

"It's simple, Ryu. I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" She declared.

Yang grinned, as she had the perfect follow-up. "I always kick my semesters off with a _Yang!_ Eh? Guys? Am I right?" She was met with silence, until Damien high-fived her.

"Yeah! You sure were _on fire_ with that one!" Damien snapped his fingers, as a small spark of fire popped out from his hands.

"Ooh, visual effects! Well played, good sir!" Yang cheered, as the two giggled, while everyone else groaned at the punsters.

Neos whispered loudly into Ruby's ear. "Psst! Ruby, any chance you wanna lend me Crescent Rose for a bit?" He stared at the duo.

"NEOS!" Ruby shouted in shock at her boyfriend's 'request.'

"Hey! I was just kidding!" He assured her, before whispering towards Weiss and Blake. "How about you girls? Lend me your weapons, come on!" He joked, as they giggled slightly.

"No need to be a killjoy just because our sense of humor is better than yours, Neos." Damien pouted, as Yang chuckled and agreed.

As Ruby continued to go over the agenda she had in store, Neos was busy gesturing to Nora about a little stunt with a chocolate cream pie. Nora picked up the pie, and was over content with the ex-rogue's idea to toss it in his face. While Weiss rose from her seat to agree with Ruby's plans for the day, everyone else, besides Ruby and Neos, was trying to stop Nora from throwing the pie. Unfortunately, her aim was off, and instead of landing on Neos, it pelted Weiss, square in the face!

As everyone else was shocked, Neos nonchalantly dabbed some of the whipped cream off the heiress's face, before licking it. "Mmm, my favourite."

After total silence in the cafeteria, someone shouted, "Food fight!" as chaos erupted. Everyone was throwing food all over the place. Neos was amused by the pandemonium going on, before Damien dragged him underneath the table, along with Ryu and Gwen. "Yikes, thing are getting crazy out there!" The crimson haired leader muttered.

"I know, right? I LOVE IT!" Neos squealed.

"I don't. This is just too much!" Gwen shuttered.

"Hmm, we need to slip by and escape as discreetly as possible." Ryu stated, to which Damien and Gwen nodded.

Neos was the only to pout. "Aww, c'mon guys? Give me one reason why we shouldn't stick around for the fun?" His question was interrupted when they saw Jaune sailing through the room, before smacking front-first onto a window.

"Is that enough of a reason?" The samurai bluntly asked.

"If we stay, we'll all get into massive trouble with Professor Goodwitch." Gwen worried at that thought.

"Plus, I really don't wanna stain my outfit." Damien added.

Neos looked at his vest, before reluctantly agreeing. "I guess you got a point... Fine, let's bail." Team DRGN was about to sneak out, with the large crowd of students fleeing the cafeteria, but they were stopped by a voice.

"Hey, where are you guys going?!" Ruby called out towards them, as Team RWBY was in a stand-off against Team JNPR, who had arranged some of the tables into a bit of a fort. "Join us, and together, we can overthrow the Valkyrie Empire!"

"No, join our side!" Nora rebutted. "You can be part of my castle!" She pointed towards the 'castle' that she and her team built.

Damien scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess we got no choice but to take part." He said to his team. "C'mon, let's go give Team RWBY a hand."

Before Team DRGN could make their way, Ryu stopped them. "Oh no you don't! Nobody's going anywhere..." He crossed his arms, before his lips curled into a small smirk. "...because we're going to assist Team JNPR's conquest."

Everyone was surprised by what Ryu actually said. "Are you nuts?! There's no way I'm facing off against my girl!" Neos stated.

"Well, I'm can't really go against Pyrrha..." Gwen pointed out.

Team DRGN was at a stand-still, as Team RWBY and Team JNPR waited for their decision. After finishing their discussion, Damien addressed the two armies. "All right, folks; we have made our decision! After careful consideration, we will be siding with Team RWBY!" He declared as he and Neos walked towards the girls, with Ruby hugging Neos out of sheer joy.

Ryu and Gwen walked towards Team JNPR, as Gwen addressed the other half. "In that case, we'll fight alongside you guys."

Both teams weren't expecting Team DRGN to reach a split decision. " Uh... Gwen, are you sure you and Ryu don't want to be with your team?" Jaune asked, as Ryu assured him.

"Yes Jaune. This is the conclusion that we have reached, and we WILL stand by it!" The samurai nodded, before staring down at the opposition.

"No hard feelings, guys, but don't think we'll show you any mercy just because we're teammates!" Damien warned with a devilish grin.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Ryu smirked, arms folded.

"Hah! You guys are so dead!" Neos shouted.

"Afraid not. You are the ones who will taste defeat!" Gwen retorted.

Ruby picked up a carton of milk, before picking things up from the top. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She pointed toward their opponents, while squeezing the milk carton. "It will be delicious!" She announced, as the rest of her teammates, including the two boys, cheered.

"Off with their heads!" Nora commanded, as Team JNPR and Ryu and Gwen picked up a bunch of watermelons and threw them towards the 'rebels.'

Yang grabbed a pair of turkeys, and equipped them just like her own shotgun gauntlets. While she was dishing out justice, Damien grabbed a large soda bottle, and shook it. He aimed it like his flamethrower gauntlets, and shot a soda stream towards Team JNPR. Gwen stuck her hand out, and froze the soda in its place. Ryu grabbed a large sugar cane, and treaded the icy soda stream. Damien was about to fight, but Weiss, who was wielding a swordfish in place of Myrtenaster, intercepted the blow.

"Phew! Thanks for the save, Weiss!" Damien commended her.

"Don't mention it!" Weiss smirked, as she matched Ryu's swordplay. After exchanging strikes, Ryu managed to fake-out the heiress by ducking out of the way in time for Nora to knock Weiss upwards, using a makeshift warhammer with a watermelon and a metal pole.

Ruby caught the falling heiress, as she hammed up the drama, with even Weiss going along with the joke. "Weiss!" Neos shouted. "You shall be avenged!" He dashed towards some of the tables, and grabbed some plastic forks and knives. As Gwen tossed a large bucket of food at them, the ex-rogue tossed the fake cutlery at her, skewering the food into appetizers.

As Damien was enjoying the fun, pushing Ren backwards with a large spray of soda, he saw Yang being pummeled into orbit by a large hammer strike from Nora, despite her weapon shattering. "Geez, that's... quite a swing." He muttered. As Nora chucked a soda can at Blake. Thankfully, Damien caught it. "I'll take that! Need a refill anyways!" He commented, as he refilled his soda-gauntlet.

"Yo, pass me the drink!" Neos shouted, as his crimson haired pal tossed him the can. Neos smiled as he sat down, and guzzled the soda. "Grade soda, my favourite!"

Damien and Blake rolled their eyes, as Damien shot another soda stream towards their 'enemies.' However, Pyrrha used her semblance to create a large tornado of soda cans, and aimed them towards the pair. "Quick, behind me!" Damien ordered, as he kicked up a table, as he held it up like a shield, protecting them from being pelted.

"Wow! Quick thinking, Damien!" Blake smiled.

"It's what I do." He smirked, as he kicked it towards the gladiator, halting the bombardment.

While Neos was still enjoying his drink, the table that was kicked bumped the soda can a bit, spilling on his vest. "NOOO! NOT THE VEST!" He screamed, as his prized vest was stained. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" He yelled, as he grabbed a large barrel of soda. He grinned maniacally, as he took out a packet of mints.

Damien's eyes widened in horror, as he saw what his pal was up to. "Neos no! STOP YOU FOOL!" He ran frantically, as Ryu and Gwen saw and ran as well. Unfortunately, they were too late, as Neos dropped a single mint into the barrel, causing a massive soda-fizz explosion, knocking Team DRGN out of the food war. "You idiot! What were you thinking?!" Damien scolded him, as all four of them got up and dusted themselves off.

"Uh, I was trying to avenge the vest? Duh?" Neos waved off.

Ryu sighed. "This is a fine mess... literally."

Gwen gave a weak giggle. "Well, at least we all go down together as a team."

Eventually, Ruby brought an end to the food fight, where she used her semblance and dashed to create a tailwind of food, pinning Team JNPR to the wall as they were pelted all over, effectively winning the food fight. "That's my girl." Neos stated with pride.

Once the food fight was over, Professor Goodwitch stormed into the cafeteria, as she looked ready to explode. She waved her riding crop to telekinetically place everything back to where it originally was. After sliding the last table into place, she faced the students, and adjusted her glasses. "Children please!" She said in a surprisingly calm voice. "Do not play with your food."

Nora belched, as Yang finally returned from space, crash landing into the school, on top of Damien. "I'm okay!" He assured, with a weak thumb's up.

Neos laughed out loud, as he joked. "Hey Yang, hope you had a nice trip! See you next... FALL!" He chortled as his pun, as everyone was confused by the joke. "Get it? Fall... because she... fell from... space..." He tried to explain.

"Boo!" Damien and Yang both booed at his joke.

"Everybody's a critic." Neos pouted, as everybody laughed. The food fight certainly brought out a lot in everybody; their friendship, teamwork, and in Neos' case, bad sense of humor.

* * *

 **There we go, the food fight fiasco is now finished! Personally, the food fight was one of my favourite moments in RWBY, and quite frankly, it feels good to have done it. Also, small note here folks, but I am now posting my story onto Deviantart as well, changes included. Anyways, take care everybody.**


	15. Chapter 15: Infiltration - Part 1

**Hello again, everybody. It is time to delve into the next chapter in the Volume 2 Saga of my RWBY OC Story. Also, I'm just going to get this out of the way right now; Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder will not be appearing in this story. My apologies to anyone who was looking forward to seeing them. Now, on with the story!**

* * *

After everyone had gotten cleaned up, everyone had went back to Team DRGN's dorm room for a big get together. Ren was sitting on one bed reading a book. Ryu was also sitting and reading while enjoying Gwen's company, who was happily resting her head on his shoulder. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Damien, Neos, Jaune, and Nora were all enjoying some eight player Smash Bros action while Pyrrha happily watched from behind.

"Oh man, this is awesome! Here I come!" Jaune declared as he was ready to smash, but Yang quickly sidestepped, and countered, knocking him off the stage. "Aw man."

"Sorry Jaune, better luck next time." Yang smirked as the blonde knight looked down in defeat.

"Don't worry Jaune, you will be avenged!" Ruby shouted as she ran to attack, but she triggered a motion sensor bomb, knocking both her and Neos out. "NOOoo!"

"Ruby, why?!" Neos yelled out in shock.

"I'm so sorry…" She cried, giving the puppy dog stare to her boyfriend.

"Aww, I can't stay mad at you." Neos admitted, giving her a quick peck on her cheek.

The smash bros round came down to Damien, Yang, and Weiss. However, Weiss had no clue how to play. "How exactly am I supposed to win like this?"

"Don't worry, our damage percentage ratio is both in the 200% zone, while you're is only 60%." Yang explained to her.

"Plus, your fighter has a counter move, allowing you to negate damage what-so-ever." Damien added.

"Meaning?" Weiss asked, still not having a clue.

"You're just one hit away from winning the match." Ruby wept in a defeated tone.

Weiss examined the match, while grinning with a power-hungry grin. "Yes, that it. Cower in fear, as I stand on top, as the greatest fighter of all time. Nothing can stop me now-"

"Smash Ball!" Damien declared, breaking Weiss out of her rant.

"What?" The heiress stared at the screen, looking stunned as the final smash knocked Yang and Weiss off the stage, giving him the win.

"I win." He smiled as he jumped up to celebrate.

"I hate this game of emotions we play." Weiss frowned, as she pouted in defeat.

"Stay strong Weiss, we'll get through this together!" Ruby jumped into Weiss's arms.

"Shut up, don't touch me!" Weiss said, hugging her tightly.

"C'mon, let's all play again!" Jaune declared, before Pyrrha held a textbook in front of his face.

"Jaune, you promised…" The gladiator reminded him, as she gladly took his place.

"Sup losers? Nice party you got here." The gang all turned to see Sun standing in the dorm room with his old blue-haired pal, Neptune Vasilias. "Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen (Weiss)…"

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Weiss complained.

"I never got to introduce you to my old friend." Sun pointed to his friend.

"Um, isn't this a place for learning?" Neptune shrugged his shoulders.

"Thank you!" Ren and Ryu both shouted at the same time.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun whispered to him.

"Geh, geh, geh, geh… Intellectual." Neptune corrected him. "So, what's your name, snow angel?" He flirted towards Weiss.

"Um, I'm Weiss." She said with a faint blush.

"Pleasure to meet you." Neptune raised his eyebrows up and down.

"Are you kidding me?" Jaune muttered under his breath, as he tried the exact same pick-up line on their first encounter.

"Well, I never imagined you as the gamer type." Sun joked towards Blake.

Blake glared toward Sun, as she got up to leave. "Actually, I'm done playing. I'll see you guys later." She exited out the door.

"Women." Nora blurted out, causing everyone to turn towards her.

"Well, now we're missing an eighth player." Neos commented.

"I'll play." Neptune called out, while Pyrrha allowed Sun to take over for her.

After a few rounds of Smash Bros, Gwen and Ryu went out since they had dinner plans for their date, with Team JNPR going with them to celebrate. Sun and Neptune decided to head back to their dorm a while later.

After a while, the five went back to Team RWBY's dorm room, after complaining about losing the last game.

Blake entered the dorm, where Weiss immediately turned her attention towards her. "And where have you been? Lately, you've been moody, antisocial, and quiet!"

"Uh, have you met Blake?" Yang and Neos said together.

"Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!" Weiss explained as she leapt into the air, and landed on a chair. "So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?" She made a dramatic pose, surprising everyone in the room, before Weiss regained composure, as she stepped down.

"I just don't understand how everyone can be so calm." Blake answered.

Ruby approached Blake, "You're still thinking about Torchwick?"

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!" Blake stated.

Yang tried to reassure her. "Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it."

Blake, clearly not satisfied, stood by her decision. "Well I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do! "

Weiss, knowing where this is going, tried to be the voice of reason. "Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the five of you think that you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!"

Neos shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why the hell not?"

"Let me remind you people. We're not ready!" Weiss scolded.

"And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day. They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!" Blake yelled back.

Damien chimed in, nodding. "She has a point. After what happened back there, we can't just sit by, and let them do what they wish. Besides, we've already struck back, and now it's only a matter of time, before they track us down, and kill us. Therefore, we have to finish what we started!"

Ruby, excited from all of this, jumped up. "Okay, all in favour of becoming the youngest Huntsmen and Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye."

Neos grinned as he hugged his gal. "Hey, I'm all aboard for a little stakeout. Count me in!"

Yang hugged her sister too. "Oh, I love it when you're feisty. I'm in!"

Damien spoke up, putting his arms around the group. "Don't leave me out of the action. I'm in too!"

Weiss shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I suppose this could be fun."

Ruby gave a small pout. "You guys didn't say 'aye.'"

Blake smiled, as she saw everyone on board. "All right. We're in this together!"

"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby declared, which everyone cheered. Then she remembered something. "I left my game in the other room!"

Weiss face-palmed at this. "We're doomed."

After the night was over, the day to put their plan into action came. As soon as class finished, Team RWBY, including Damien and Neos, all headed back to their dorm to prepare. Ryu and Gwen would have come, but they were doing some training with Team JNPR.

Team RWBY had already changed to some brand new outfits. As they waited for the two boys, they both entered to showcase their new outfits as well. Damien was wearing a white jacket shirt with crimson dragon designs on the back, as well as dark blue pants. Neos was wearing a black leather jacket with his trademark vest still on top of it, as well as light blue jeans. They both still had their weapons equipped, just in case.

Weiss rolled her eyes when she saw the rebel outfit Neos had. "Ugh, you couldn't leave the vest?"

"Hey, you may have me changing outfits, but I'm keeping the vest!" Neos retorted back, tugging his vest lightly.

"Well, I think you look cool." Ruby giggled, as she playfully hugged him.

"I'll be honest, it feels weird to not have my jacket on me." Damien looked down, on his new outfit.

"I like it! You remind me of Spruce Lee." Yang winked, causing Damien to chuckle.

"Anyways, I trust we actually have a plan this time?" Damien asked.

Ruby nodded. "Yup! Everyone has their roles. And since you guys are coming with us, I managed to arrange your positions accordingly."

Weiss got up from the bed and explained her role. "You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

Blake stepped forward. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

Ruby nodded as she turned towards Damien. "And Damien, since you're also part Faunus, I figured it would be a good idea for you to go with Blake."

Damien nodded. "Understood."

Yang stepped up. "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard..."

Ruby turned towards Neos. "And since Yang doesn't have a partner, I'm afraid you're stuck with her." She pouted, as Yang feigned offense.

Neos waved his hand dismissively. "Don't sweat it, Rubes. Besides, if it's who I think it is, I still got a bone to pick with him." He pounded his knuckles.

Ruby smiled as she wrapped up the plan. "Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang and Neos to go over what we found. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" The six looked outside to see Sun hanging upside down from a tree, apparently listening in to their entire conversation.

"Sun?!" Blake was shocked to see him.

"How did you get up there?" Yang wondered.

"That's easy, I do it all the time." Sun answered carefree.

"You do what?!" Weiss yelled, feeling violated of her privacy.

"I'm climb trees all the time." The monkey Faunus shrugged, clearly ignoring her question. He leapt into the room as he had an excited grin on his face. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We're going to investigate the situation… as a team!" Blake reminded him, as she referred to the six of them.

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby shyly added.

Sun waved it off. "That's dumb! We should always get friends involved! That's why I brought Neptune!"

The six looked outside to see Neptune standing outside on the ledge, acting cool. "Sup?" He smirked.

"And how did you get up here?" Damien wondered.

"I have my ways." Neptune stated, before continuing with a nervous look. "Seriously? Can I please come in? We're like, really high up."

After a brief moment of thought, they decided that Sun would go with Blake and Damien, while Neptune would travel with Yang and Neos, as soon as he recovered from his height trauma.

As Yang, Neos, and Neptune walked towards a garage, Yang brought out a yellow and black motorcycle.

Neos gave out an impressed whistle. "Oh man, she's a beauty, Yang."

Yang smiled at the compliment. "Thanks Neos. It's my pride and joy, Bumblebee. Unfortunately, she's not big enough to carry three people." She frowned.

"That's okay. I got an idea." Neos quickly ran to a nearby alley. He dug around, while Yang and Neptune looked in wonder. He then brought some rope, a hover board, and a metal rod tied to it.

Yang grinned when she realized when Neos had in mind. "Perfect Neos! That works out great! So, who's wants to hover-ski?"

Neptune saw Neos grinning towards him, before his face reacted in horror. "NO! Nonono! I am not riding like that!" He screamed, as the other two laughed.

"Don't sweat it, Water-boy. I used to do this stunt all the time!" Neos patted the annoyed blue-headed boy's head.

After tying the other end of the rope to Yang's motorcycle, he stepped onto the hover-board while gripping tightly on the bar. Yang revved up her bike while adjusting her helmet, while Neptune clung onto the blonde for dear life. Once she zoomed out of the garage, the rope dragged Neos behind as well, as he rode onto the hover-board like a jet-ski.

Yang and Neos were having the time of their lives, while Neptune was close to wetting himself. The street walkers looked on in shock when they saw Neos riding like that.

As soon as they reached their destination, Yang slammed the brakes, causing Neos to fly face-first into a wall. After landing on his back, all he could shout was. "AGAIN!"

Yang was laughing at his amusement. "Geez, never expected you get this giddy before. You sure love being reckless!"

Neos got up, with a big grin on his face. "What can I say? I love to live on the edge!" As they calmed down, they turned to face the bar. "So, why exactly did you come here in the first place?"

Yang looked upwards at the sign, arms crossed. "Oh, I was trying to find answers to look for someone. Of course, I left quite the impression here when I was done." She finished, giving a devilish grin.

"Really now? Well, you should have seen what happened when I came here. I once did Junior a favour, and yet the cheapskate still didn't pay me!" The spiky-teen rogue reminisced.

"Is that so? Well, I think he's in no position to deny us anything. Let's roll." Yang snapped her fingers as the two blondes walked towards the bar, with Neptune shortly following who was still dizzy from the ride.

Inside the bar, two henchmen quickly tried to barricade the door, knowing who exactly was coming, but it was no use, since Yang blew the door open. "Guess who's back!" Yang triumphantly shouted as the henchmen pointed their guns towards them.

"Hey boys, long time no see?" Neos called out, gaining their attention as well.

The two teens were unfazed by them, as they glared back. The DJ lifted the needle off the record player that was looping, and took cover underneath the table.

"Yeah, so could you guys define 'friend' for me?" Neptune sheepishly asked as the henchmen turned their guns towards him.

"Stop! Stop! Nobody shoot!" A voice called out, as the owner, Hei "Junior" Xiong, approached the three, with the henchmen lowering their weapons. "Blondies, you're here. Why?" He finished with a worried look on his face.

"You still owe me a drink." Yang smirked.

"Not to mention, you're still late on payment!" Neos added, as he and Yang grabbed his arms, and dragged him towards the bar for questioning.

After a few minutes of interrogation, Junior leaned back on his chair exhausted from all the questions. "I don't know!" He replied.

"How can you not know?" Yang demanded.

"I haven't talked to him! I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. Back." He explained, feeling aggravated.

Neptune showed up, to question him as well. "So, where did they go?"

That caused Junior, Yang, and Neos to face him, befuddled at his redundant question. "What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back!" Junior faced Yang and Neos. "Who is this guy?"

Neos shoved Neptune out of the way, and slammed his hand on the table. "Forget the kid! Unless you want things to get rough, I suggest you give us what we came here for in the first place!"

The bartender was getting annoyed at this point. "I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them, which is something I can relate to!" The henchmen grumbled in offense when they heard this.

"Come on boys. Let's go!" Yang motioned towards the exit.

"Don't forget my payment next time, ya bum!" Neos gestured the "I'm watching you" sign as the three went out.

Neptune asked with his hands in his pockets. "We get everything we need?"

"Well, we got everything we can. Hopefully the rest of the team is having better luck." Yang answered.

* * *

 **And there you have it, this chapter is done, tune in next time for the conclusion.**

 **Note #1: Since Team RWBY had different outfits with they were going, I figured I would do the same for Damien and Neos. Inspired by Dragon Fist Lee Sin, and Vandal Brand from League of Legends.**

 **Note #2: For anyone who was interested in their Smash Bros match, let's just say... Ruby - Sonic; Weiss - Lucina; Blake - Lucario; Yang - Little Mac; Jaune - Link; Nora - King Dedede; Damien - Mario; Neos - Pikachu; Pyrrha - Palutena; Sun - Donkey Kong; Neptune - Falco**

 **Note #3: Instead of Team RWBY playing their board game in the library, I thought it would be an interesting twist if they were playing Super Smash Bros.**

 **Thank you and good night!**


	16. Chapter 16: Infiltration - Part 2

**Hello again. Welcome back to another chapter of my story. After Yang, Neos, and Neptune finish up business at Junior's bar, let's see how the others are faring, shall we?**

* * *

Meanwhile, in an abandoned building, a secret meeting for the White Fang was being held. Blake, Sun, and Damien saw a pair of horned Faunus being let in by a tall, bearded Faunus.

"This must be it." Blake calmly stated.

"You sure?" Sun asked, causing Blake and Damien to stare at him, before realizing his dumb question. "Y'know, I'll take your work for it."

Damien lamented. "I'll be honest. It feels weird being the only half-Faunus here. I feel so out of place."

Blake placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Damien. You should never be ashamed of who you are. Besides, you've felt our pain. Therefore, I consider you to be one of us." She gave a small smile towards him.

"Thanks Blake." Damien smiled back.

As the three approached the entrance, they pulled out the half-masks that had a same design as a Grimm. "I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?" Sun asked.

Blake took off her bow to reveal her cat ears, as she explained to him. "The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters."

Damien stared at the mask, shaking his head. "Grimm masks. Truly a dark thought."

"Just as dark as the person who came up with them." Blake bluntly stated, as the three put on their masks.

"Always a fun time with you." Sun sarcastically muttered.

The three made their way to the crowd of new recruits. They saw a high-ranking White Fang member, who was The Lieutenant, standing in the center with dozens of soldiers lined up.

The White Fang Lieutenant stepped forward and gained everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long!

Everyone turned their attention, and starting to boo as Roman Torchwick entered happily waving, ignoring the protests. Then, his little female assistant showed up, wearing an outfit that was reminiscing of Neapolitan ice cream, whose name was Neopolitan.

A female antler Faunus quickly yelled up. "What's a human doing here?"

Roman smirked evilly. "I'm glad you asked "deerie." I bet you're all wondering that too, right crimson boy?" Roman pointed towards Damien, causing everyone to face him, with Blake and Sun looking nervous.

"Hey, is this guy even a Faunus?" 'Deerie' questioned.

Damien managed to stay calm, and falsely stated. "I may not look like it, but I am one of you. I have felt the pain of being pushed around by the human scum. They think they're better than us, but I say we are the superior race! And nothing would please me more than to see their pathetic existence wiped out, from right underneath my boot!" He finished, as the entire room cheered for him. Damien gave a quick smile to Blake and Sun, who smiled back, knowing that it was all an act.

Torchwick applauded him, as he gave a small chuckle. "Well said young man, you certainly speak the truth. Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst." He mentioned as he pointed to himself. "Case in point. So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!"

The crowd was starting to turn to his side, much to the concern of Blake, Sun, and Damien. "Where exactly is he going with this?" Damien muttered to the two.

Roman continued his speech with an evil grin. "But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms! Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room."

He then moved the curtains, to reveal a giant mechanized robotic suit, the Atlesian Paladin-290.

As the crowd continued to cheer, the three heroes looked worried, as they wondered how he even acquired it in the first place.

"As some of you might have heard, this right here... is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my "employer", we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, "hit the shelves". Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?" Roman finished his speech, as the audience was cheering for the madman.

"We should get out of here." Blake whispered to the two boys.

Unfortunately, before they could leave, The White Fang Lieutenant spoke up. "Will all new recruits, please step forward!"

"Damn…" Damien muttered under breath, as everyone was moving forward. Not wanting to blow their cover, the three of them.

As they inched closer to the center of the stage, Roman frowned towards the three, realizing who they are.

"He sees us…" Sun panicked.

"He can't see in the dark." Blake calmly stated, as she drew Gambol Shroud, and shot out the lights. They made their escape out the window, but Torchwick activated the Atlesian Paladin as it was on their trail.

Blake called their team for help, as the three of them continued to run, until they made it on the highway.

Yang, Neptune, and Neos were riding towards the mecha. Neos shot several bolts of lightning at Roman, causing him to grimace at the force of the attacks. Neptune then transformed his weapon into a trident, as he leapt onto the mecha. Meanwhile, Sun conjured two clones of himself, which exploded on contact with the mecha. Sun used his opportunity to attack, but Roman threw Neptune off, crashing into Sun.

Weiss leapt from out of nowhere, as she landed and plunged Myrtenaster to the ground, creating a trial of ice on the ground where the robot was running, causing it to slip and fall.

As soon as Ruby caught up everyone, with Crescent Rose in its scythe form. Roman got back up while starring down Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Damien, and Neos.

"So Ruby, like we practiced?" Damien smirked, as the six of them spent the other day practicing some team combos. Ruby nodded in return, as she started to call out each attack name.

"Freezer Burn!" Everyone jumped back as Weiss surrounds the entire area around her in ice. Afterwards, she jumps out of the way, as Yang smashes the center with Ember Celica, creating a huge shroud of mist to increase evasion. Torchwick activated the laser guided system, but he still wasn't able to see. Then Damien shot a large stream of fire from Twin Dragon Fangs, which were in flamethrower mode, hitting the center of the mecha. Torchwick tried to push the flames off to no avail.

"Shock and Awe!" While Damien was still focusing his attacks, Neos conjured up a huge orb of electricity, which he then held up above him with his Claws of Mjolnir. As he ducked his head, Yang punched the projectile directly at Roman, while Damien got out of the way. The electric ball crashed into Torchwick, temporarily disabling the controls.

"Checkmate!" Blake and Weiss go in, as both girls combined their attacks to deliver a barrage of slashes at the robotic suit.

"Ladybug!" Ruby and Blake go in, and deal out alternating attacks. Finally, they launch themselves up and they combine their strength and slash off the robot's left arm.

"Thunder Crash!" Neos charges straight at Torchwick and leaps forward. Torchwick prepared to defend himself, but is caught off-guard when he tumbles instead, crouching as Damien immediately leaps off his shoulders and delivers a powerful axe-kick at the Robot's face, cracking the glass window.

Yang took this chance to launch some of her own punches, but the mecha knocked her into some pillars, shattering them along the way. However, Yang's semblance kicked in, causing her hair to go in flames, and her eyes to glow red. As Torchwick closed in, Yang caught the other robotic arm, and punched it straight off.

Now that the robot was completely unarmed, it kicked Yang towards her team, but this was all part of Ruby's plan. Before Ruby could call out the next move, Damien asked if he could join in for the ride. Ruby smiled and nodded.

"Bumblebee!" Blake extended Gambol Shroud for Yang to grab onto, and she caught it, Damien caught Yang's arm and was spinning around with her. Damien continued to fire Twin Dragon Flames to increase speed, gaining momentum. Before they could deal the finishing blow, they had to freeze it in place.

"Ice Flower!" Weiss summoned a glyph, where Ruby shot many bullets from Crescent Rose throught the glyph, encasing them in ice, as trapped the robot's feet completely.

As Blake fired Yang and Damien towards the immobile paladin, they smirked at each other, as they both let go, raising their fists.

"Crimson Gold!" The two fighters combined their strength and punched the robot together, completely shattering it, and sending Torchwick flying to the ground.

Torchwick was able to easily get up, and dust himself off before grumbling over the damage. Damien wasted no time in shooting at the defenceless criminal with his flamethrower gauntlets. However, his assistant from before managed to show up and protect her master with her umbrella.

"Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen." He smirked as Weiss shouted in offence. "Always a pleasure. Neo, if you would…"

Yang quickly charged in to strike down the outlaws, but she only ended up punching an illusion of the two, which immediately shattered as if it was made of glass. Meanwhile, the real duo were seen escaping aboard a helicopter, safely getting away. Everyone moved closer to where Yang was standing, as they all glared towards the direction that Torchwick exited.

Yang muttered. "So, I guess he got a new henchman."

"Yeah, I guess she really made our plans… fall apart!" Weiss smirked, trying to be funny, but all she got was a small giggle from Ruby, as Blake started to walk away.

"Oy…" Damien groaned.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Neos glared towards the heiress.

Even Yang was not amused by this. "No. Just… No."

Weiss looked shocked as she tried to defend herself. "But you make jokes too!"

"There's a time and place for jokes." The blonde boxer stated.

"Was this not it?" The heiress asked, concerned.

"No, it just wasn't good." Yang retorted as she started to walk with Blake, Damien and Neos.

"Well at least I'm trying!" Weiss pouted as she followed everyone else.

"Say, did anyone see Sun and Neptune?" Ruby wondered, since the two disappeared during their showdown. It turns out that they were sitting at a restaurant, while wondering how their battle went.

After a long day, the six decided to head back to their dorm rooms, to call it a night.

* * *

 **That wraps up this battle, I apologize if this was shorter than the last ones. Don't worry, the next chapter will be much longer, and it will go off the canonical story line. Btw, I'm sorry if people wanted to see me write about the food fight episode. I just didn't really feel like it.**


	17. Chapter 17: Crimson Gold

**Hello everybody, I'm feeling giddy today, so here's two chapters in one day. In this chapter, I think you can tell from the title that this is where Damien and Yang's feelings for each other are finally explored. How will it end for them? Let's find out!**

* * *

After the events of last night, everyone was doing some training for the Vytal Festival Tournament, with Professor Glynda Goodwitch supervising. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN were watching from the stands.

Everybody was watching Pyrrha laying the beatdown on Team CRDL with incredible ease. Despite being outmatched, the champion gladiator had no trouble defeating them, with a combination of speed, strength, weapon shifting skills, and with Cardin hitting his own teammates. Eventually, Pyrrha ended the match by slamming Cardin deep into the ground.

"Lucky shot." Cardin grumbled as he struggled to get up.

Professor Goodwitch walked past the arrogant knight. "Well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no trouble qualifying for the tournament."

"Thank you, Professor." Pyrrha smiled as she bowed towards her.

"All right, who would like to go next?" The professor asked, surveying the stands.

"I would!" Damien called out, waving his hand.

"Very well, Mr. Crimson. Who would you like to face?" Professor Goodwitch asked the crimson haired lad.

As he jumped down from the stands, he already had the perfect opponent in mind. "Yang? Care to do the honours?" He smirked at the blonde haired fighter.

Yang had a wide grin, as she jumped down to face him. "Ah, I was hoping we'd face off sooner or later. I've been itching for a rematch!" She declared as she readied Ember Celica. "Ready Damien?"

Damien smiled as he opened up the Twin Dragon Fangs. "I'm always ready for an awesome fight!" He replied, once Pyrrha joined up with everybody else on the stands.

"Good luck, Yang!" Ruby shouted towards her sister.

"You got this, Damien!" Neos shouted towards his pal.

"I hope you realize I have no intention of losing!" Yang called toward Damien.

"That's fine, because neither do I!" He replied back, as the two walked to their corners.

Once the match began, Damien shot several fireballs towards Yang, but she fired several rounds from her gauntlets, destroying all the fireballs. The arena was covered in smoke, as Damien fired a torrent of flames towards her from his cover. Yang dodged the stream, as she charged towards him. Once she got close enough, Yang swung a hard hook towards him. Damien leapt towards the right, and delivered a roundhouse kick towards Yang, knocking her back.

Yang got back up, as Damien sprung towards Yang, descending with an axe-kick. Yang blocked the kick, and punched upwards at Damien, sending him flying backwards. Damien landed on his feet, and dashed back at her. He gave a swift uppercut, pushing Yang onto the defensive. He followed up with several quick punches which gained speed after each swing, with Yang struggling to block them all.

"Don't forget, Yang's semblance allows her to grow stronger with each hit she takes!" Ryu called towards Damien. But it was too late, as Yang caught Damien's arm.

Yang's eyes were red with fury, as she rammed her fist into Damien's chest, sending him back. Now Damien was on the defensive, as Yang clashed her gauntlets together, her hair giving off a fiery glow. She charged towards him, giving several hard punches, as Damien tried to block them. She then fired a powerful blow towards him, pushing him onto the wall. Victory was assured for Yang, as she moved in for the final blow. However, Damien caught Yang's punch, and countered with a heavy blow to her head, pushing her to the other side.

Everyone was shocked, as they never expected anyone to stop Yang in her tracks when she was in her prime.

"Whoa!" That was all Ruby could say.

"Yup! Damien grows stronger the longer he's been in combat." Neos explained, his arm on her shoulder.

Damien drew in power, causing his fists and feet to set on fire. He dashed towards Yang at such a high speed, she had little time to react. He fired several flame-powered punches and kicks, which Yang either blocked or dodged. Yang swung back at the crimson haired lad, where he dodged in return. After a few minutes of combat, Yang and Damien both delivered a heavy punch at each other's faces, pushing them back to their corners.

The two stood exhausted, their faces dripping with sweat. "Huh, not bad. You really are one tough fighter." Damien smirked towards the blonde boxer, wiping his forehead.

Yang grinned, as she wiped the sweat from herself. "Thanks. I never had such an intense match! I'm glad to have faced off against an awesome opponent such as yourself, Damien."

"And I you, Yang!"

The two fighters nodded towards each other, as they charged their fists. They raced towards the center, prepared to finish this off. But before they could clash, Glynda stopped them. "Okay you two, that's enough!" The two stopped dead in their tracks with their fists close by their faces. "This isn't a death battle; the purpose of this match is to deplete the opponent's aura level to a low enough level."

Yang and Damien both settled down, and chuckled nervously. "Sorry Professor Goodwitch." They said together.

Glynda nodded, as she adjusted her glasses. "Well, since your aura levels are evenly matched, we'll call this match a draw. I will say though, you both displayed a tremendous amount of strength and stamina! Well done!"

Everyone got up from their seats, as they all applauded for their match.

"Way to go, Yang!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah, you da man Damien!" Neos shouted. Even Blake was impressed with what she saw, despite thinking about the events from yesterday.

"All right, it seems we are now out of time."

Yang and Damien were hanging onto each other's shoulders, exhausted from their battle.

"Oh man. That was the best match I have ever had. I'm so glad I chose you to face off against!" Damien smiled, playfully punching her shoulder.

"Heh, thanks! I don't usually say this, but you were the best opponent I've ever had the honour of fighting!" Yang laughed, punching him back.

"And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses." Glynda concluded.

"So Yang, have you asked anyone to the dance yet?" Damien asked, having completely forgotten about the dance.

Yang faced him, her face red. "Um not yet. Why do you ask?"

Damien thought carefully, about the feelings that was building up for a while now, as he tried to confess what he wanted to for a while now. "Well, I know you're busy planning it, but I was wondering if you wanted to…"

Before he could finish, Yang saw Blake yelling at her teammates, before storming off.

"Blake wait! Where are you going?" She faced the Faunus, who was too moody to listen. "Sorry Damien, we'll talk later." Yang quickly said, as she ran after her.

Damien sighed in sorrow, as he missed his chance to tell her his true feelings.

Sunday afternoon came, as the dance was almost upon all students. Team DRGN was hanging out in their dorms, eagerly awaiting. Ryu, Gwen, and Neos were all excited for the moment.

"Man, this day took long enough. I cannot wait!" Neos cheered.

"Me neither. This is certainly going to be a wonderful evening." Ryu smiled, as he finishing setting out everyone's outfits for the day.

"So Neos, I assume you'll be attending the dance with Ruby?" Gwen happily asked.

"You bet! We'll be the coolest couple on the dance floor! Well, no offense to you two." He waved to his teammates, as the three of them laughed.

"And what about you Damien? Aren't you excited for the dance?" Gwen turned to their leader, who was lying on his bed, with a pillow on his face.

"Who cares? I'm beginning to think this dance is a stupid waste of time." Damien grumbled underneath the pillow.

The three faced each other with a worried look on their faces, before looking back towards him. "Okay, what the hell's your problem?" Neos questioned his friend, lifting the pillow off his face.

"Nothing!" The crimson haired leader yelled, turning his back to face the wall.

"That does not sound like nothing. Tell us what's on your mind?" Ryu asked with a stern look. Damien stood quiet, not wanting to discuss it.

"Let me guess. This has something to do with Yang." Neos guessed, causing Damien to turn and face his team, with a moody look.

"Fine, you got me. I really want to ask Yang to the dance. Go ahead, mock me!" He pouted.

Neos raised his arms in slight offense. "Dude, just ask her already! It's obvious to everyone that you want to."

"Exactly. The worst she can do is say no to you." Ryu added, earning a small glare from Neos.

Damien sighed as he sat up, facing down in sadness. "If only it were that simple, Ryu." He sighed, as he was almost on the verge of tears.

"Then what is it? Is there something else you're worried about that concerns Yang?" Ryu questioned, being greeted with more silence from Damien.

"Damien? Do you… love Yang?" Gwen wondered, worried for her leader's well-being.

Damien stared at his worried teammates, and got up from the bed. "It's just that, when I first saw Yang, I saw her as a strong fighter, just like me. But I also learned that she has such a sweet and caring side to her, being a strong big sister to Ruby, despite her mother abandoning them. And as time went on, she inspires me to fight on to my fullest potential." He paced back and forth, as his teammates listened. "That fight the other day made me realize that we have so much in common, it's as if we are soulmates. I don't just wanna ask Yang to the dance; I wanna ask her out. I really, really feel like she is the one for me, but I don't even think she feels the same way I do for her."

After a moment of silence, Neos walked over to his best pal, and placed his hand on his shoulder. Then he proceeded to give him a big slap on the face. "Snap out of it, will ya!?" He yelled towards him.

"OW! What the hell was that for?!" Damien glared at Neos, his hand on his face where he was slapped.

"Don't be stupid! You know damn well that you and Yang are made for each other! Besides, look at me and Ruby; she's sweet and I'm sour, but the two of us are now tighter than glue!" Neos stated.

"Neos…" That was all Damien could say.

"Love is a battlefield my friend. You must always be ready to strike down the doubt inside you!" Ryu explained, as everyone stared towards him. "I read that in a book!"

"Ryu…"

"You can't give up your feeling for her, Damien. You need to be true to yourself, and you should never be afraid to be honest!" Gwen chimed in.

"Gwen…"

Neos put his hand on his best friend's shoulder, before smiling. "I've known you for such a long time. I know that you capable of doing this! So go out there, and confess your feelings already!"

Damien smiled, as he happily wiped the tears away from his face. "Everyone, thank you… You're right. I won't give up! I'm going out there and I will tell Yang what needs to be told!" He dashed out of the room with his confidence high in the clouds, while his teammates watched with smiles on their faces.

As the sun started to set, Damien was walking along the empty halls, hoping to find Yang. Eventually, he came across the vacant lecture room, where he peered through the window to see Yang talking to Blake.

He couldn't hear what was happening, so he sat down beside the doors, trying to think about to say.

In the classroom, Yang was explaining to Blake about how her obsession to stop Torchwick was a lot like how Yang's obsession to find her mother almost killed her and Ruby when they were kids. Blake expressed her sadness, but despite this, she still refused to take it easy, which started to anger Yang.

Damien peeked again towards the window, and got worried when he saw Yang shoving Blake to her ground. But then he was caught off-guard when he saw her pulling her into a tight embrace.

"I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about." Yang finished, as she turned to the door, and she winked towards Blake. "And if you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance."

Blake gave a small smile, as she asked "Oh, aren't you going to the dance with Damien?" Which caused her to stop in her tracks before pausing.

"Uh, about that. I just think he's probably going with someone else." Yang blushed, causing Blake to giggle.

"Come on now, it's obvious you're expecting him to ask you; so what's the hold-up?" Blake wondered.

The blonde boxer sighed. "Well, it's just. Lately, I've been having some strong feelings towards him. He's a great fighter, he's got such a kind heart, and sometimes makes great puns. I was even hoping… we could be more than friends…" Yang smiled, eyes closed, before turning to a frown. "But I don't think he's that interested in me."

Blake rolled her eyes, as she put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Oh Yang, you can't deny your feelings for him. Just tell him the truth. He'll understand." She assured her.

As Damien peeked through the window, he saw the two approaching the door, so he quickly tried to rehearse what he was going to say, to no avail. Defeated, he slumped to the ground, as he buried his face in his arms.

Once the two exited the room, Blake saw Damien feeling dejected, and decided to give the opportunity for the two to let it all out. "Well Yang, I gotta get going, seeyoulaterbye!" She quickly stated before dashing off, much to Yang's bewilderment.

As she disappeared from Yang's sight, Ruby and Weiss caught Blake. "There you are! Do you know how worried we were?" Weiss demanded, but Blake shushed them before pointing to what was about to happen.

The other two girls looked over to her direction, and realized what she was referring to, before clamming up.

Yang was about to walk away, but she turned to see Damien sulking in the hall. She never imagined him being the emo type, so she decided to find out what was wrong. "Damien?" She asked, worried.

Damien looked up to see Yang staring at him. "Oh, hi Yang…"

"Is everything alright?" She sat next to him, with a great amount of concern on her face.

"Uh yeah. Everything's fine, really." He weakly reassured her.

"Come on Damien. You can tell me anything. Honest!" Yang put a hand on his shoulder.

Damien looked over to see Yang smiling warmly towards him. After a brief moment of thought, he decided to finally go for broke. "Do you remember when you told me that story about how you went to find your mother?"

Yang nodded, still trying to keep her smile. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I finished explaining that story to Blake. Afterwards, you assured me that everything would be fine."

Damien continued, while still putting on a brave face. "Well, after you finished, there was a brief moment where we almost… kissed. Remember Yang?"

Yang closed her eyes as she thought carefully. "Yeah, I do. I was overcome with emotion. Most people would have walked away, or not even understood. But you gave me the words that I needed to hear, and that showed me what a kind and gentle soul you are, while being a strong fighter at the same time."

"Well, if we had actually kissed that day, how would you have reacted?" Damien wondered.

Yang raised an eyebrow, before giving an answer. "I guess I wouldn't have minded too much." Both fighters' eyes widened when she said that, before Yang tried to recompose herself. "B-but uh, where are you going with this, Damien?"

Damien was at a loss for words, as he wasn't expecting that sort of answer. "Well I-I guess I was wondering… because see… I think you're strong, beautiful, kind… a-a-and I was hoping if you would… if you would…" Damien sighed as started to lose all hope. "*sigh* Why is this so hard?" He muttered to himself.

Yang was worried about how Damien would finish that question, but she was determined to see it through. "If I would 'what?' C'mon Damien, tell me!" She raised her voice, pulling his face towards hers.

Damien was scared to go on. He was worried if he continued, this would possibly be the end of their friendship, but he really wanted to take it to the next level. Feeling desperate, Damien decided to play his final card. 'Oh, the hell with it!' He thought to himself, as he closed his eyes, and moved his head closer to Yang's as he tightly pressed his lips onto Yang's lips.

Yang's eyes widened; she had never expected this sort of thing to happen, but she was glad that it did, as her eyes slowly closed and returned the kiss. They wrapped their arms around each other, making out for almost a full minute.

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all smiled as Ryu, Gwen, and Neos showed up behind them and did the same at what they saw.

After the two broke away, gasping for air, Damien saw Yang, who was at a loss for words. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me! The truth is, I really like you, more than just as a friend and as a rival." He tried to explain, worried about what would happen.

Yang put her fingers on his lips, as she gently whispered to him. "Just give me a little heads-up next time." She warmly smiled to him.

Damien was too happy to even speak properly when he realized what she meant by that. "Y-you mean…"

"Of course silly, I feel the exact way towards you! I was worried you would never tell me…" Yang gave a small pout.

"Well, better late than never… Am I right?" The crimson haired lad smiled.

Yang's eyes turned red for a second, before grabbing Damien's jacket. "But if you ever hurt me, it'll be the last thing you ever do!" She threatened.

"I-I-I would never…" Damien panicked.

Yang's eyes reverted back to her original colour, before giggling. "I'm just teasing."

The two laughed as they got up and faced one another smiling. They embraced each other, feeling the warmth within their arms, as their foreheads gently touched.

"You don't know how happy I am right now. I love you, Yang Xiao Long." Damien whispered gently towards her.

"I love you too, Damien Crimson." She whispered back, eyes watering up.

The two leaned forward and shared another kiss, as their teammates continued to watch, in complete and utter happiness. After a long battle, the two fighters were finally together. Two flames now burn twice as hot when they are together. Nothing would ever douse the fire that shone with gold and crimson colours.

* * *

 **There you go, Damien and Yang are finally a couple! I was gonna wait until the end of the Volume 2 Arc for their relationship to come into full, but since it was painfully obvious, I just wanted to get it out of the way. By the way, I just wanna point out something interesting. Damien's semblance has THREE stages, and up until now, this was the second stage. You'll see the third and strongest stage of his semblance later on.**


	18. Chapter 18: The Dance

**Hello, and welcome to another "Lost Chapter!" Since I completely skipped the dance chapter of the story, I decided to go ahead and take a shot at it. Lots of fluff involved, so... take caution. Enjoy!**

* * *

After all matters were attended to and remedied, it was time for a little enjoyment at the Beacon Dance. Team DRGN was heading to the ballroom; the boys all wearing fancy tuxedoes, while Gwen wore a white dress that was light-blue on the bottom. Damien was strutting with glee, Ryu and Gwen were happily walking together with their arms locked, while Neos was grumbling over his outfit.

"Man, I look ridiculous!" Neos pouted. "Gwen, can I please put my vest on?"

"For the last time Neos, no!" Gwen sternly stated, much to the ex-rogue's annoyance. However, Neos' dismay instantly faded the moment he saw Ruby in a red and black dress.

"Wow..." That was all he could say, as Ruby and Yang made their way towards Team DRGN; with Ruby having to hold onto her sister's arms for support, due to her having trouble walking in heels. "Ruby... You look amazing!" He said with his face matching her dress, while his teammates grinned.

Ruby blushed an equal amount, as Yang giggled. "Doesn't she?"

Damien smiled as the white dress was wearing. "I think you look absolutely radiant, Yang!"

Yang blushed while shrugging her shoulders. "Thanks Damien. You look dapper in that tux!"

Weiss made her way to the group, in a dress similar to Yang's and Gwen's, while addressing everyone. "So Neos, no vest?"

"Well, I made an exception." Neos stated.

"Oh, I don't know. I think the vest compliments you perfectly." Ruby smiled.

Neos' eyes lit-up, as he faced Gwen with a wide grin on his face. "Fine, you can put the vest on." Gwen rolled her eyes, as Neos excitedly put his trademark vest back on over his tux jacket, while everyone else lightly chuckled.

"Ah, much better." Neos tugged his vest, before reaching into his pocket. "That reminds me, I got you something." He pulled out a small red rose. "For you." He smiled, as Ruby's silver eyes sparkled.

"Oh Neos, thank you!" Ruby squealed, as her date attached the rose onto her dress. "I love it!" She smiled as the two of them shared a tender kiss.

Damien smiled and rolled his head, while reaching into his coat pocket. "Well, I know it's doesn't match the standard for corsages, but I think this suits you very well!" He presented Yang with a big sunflower.

"Ooh, it's perfect!" Yang smiled widely, as Damien affixed the flower to her dress. "Thanks Damien!" She smiled, as the two of them kissed as well.

"Stupid neck-trap..." They turned around to see Sun, who was wearing a black version of his regular shirt while fidgeting with his tie.

"I feel you." Neos called out to him, before they heard another voice.

"I knew you looked better with a tie." Everyone turned, and looked on in amazement at Blake, who looked stunning in the black dress she was wearing.

Sun was at a loss for words, as Blake smiled and held him by the arm. "So, does this means that we're going together?"

Blake nodded. "Technically, though my first dance is spoken for." She turned to face Yang.

"Oh yeah." Damien said. "You told me you'd save her a dance."

Yang nodded. "Yup. But don't worry, after I'm done with Blake, you and I can dance to our heart's content!" She smiled warmly at her boyfriend, while running her fingers on his chest.

"Sounds perfect!" Damien smiled back. "You two have fun." He said, as he kissed her cheek, before the two girls ran off to the dance floor.

Shortly, the rest of the group made their way to the ballroom. "So, shall we make our way to the dance floor?" Neos asked Ruby, with a wave of his eyebrow.

Ruby giggled. "I don't know, I'm not much of a dancer." She frowned, before looking at her heels. "Especially in these things!"

Neos shrugged. "Me neither, but I'm willing to learn if you are."

"Well okay!" Ruby cheered, before almost tripping on her heels. "AAH! Stupid heels!"

The ex-rogue caught her, while holding her arms. "Whoa there!" He smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry. Just hold on tight, I got you." He assured the red-head.

Sun looked over to their dates having fun, and then over to Damien. "So, wanna dance?" He smirked towards Damien.

Damien chuckled, before answering. "Well okay. But only until our gals are done with their dance!" He said, as they got their groove on. After the first dance was over, the two paired switched back to their respective partners, with Blake dancing with Sun, and Damien dancing with Yang.

Weiss, Ryu and Gwen faced the excitement going on. "So, aren't you two going to dance?" Weiss asked the couple.

"Not just yet. I think I will wait for a slower song." Ryu said sheepishly. "This song isn't my style."

Gwen giggled at her slightly flustered boyfriend. "Besides, we'll stand around with Team JNPR." Ryu and Gwen were about to greet them, before she turned to Weiss. "Are you going to be all right by yourself, Weiss?" Gwen asked the heiress.

"I'll be fine. Really." Weiss smiled towards the archer, as she and Ryu walked over to their friends.

After they greeted each other, Nora dragged Ren to the dance floor, Ryu wondered around the ballroom with Jaune walking out onto the balcony, which left Pyrrha and Gwen to converse. "So Pyrrha, lovely evening, isn't it?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes, it certainly is." Pyrrha smiled back. "So, I'm assuming you're here with Ryu?"

Gwen nodded. "Yup." She answered before her smile turned into in a frown. "So, where's your date?"

Pyrrha frowned as she faced the floor. "I... don't have a... date. Nobody's asked me out."

Gwen was shocked when she heard that. "What?! But you're Pyrrha Nikos!" She spoke before regaining her composure. "Surely someone must have asked you."

"No, they haven't. They're too shy to ask me because everyone thinks I'm too good for them." Pyrrha glumly stated.

Gwen folded her arms before having a quick thought. "Well, what about Jaune? I mean, we all know just how you really feel about him! He must feel that way too, right?"

The gladiator chuckled weakly before answering. "You'd think he catch on to the many hints I keep dropping. But sadly, I don't think he realizes it." Pyrrha sighed, before sadly stating. "I guess Jaune and I just aren't meant to be..."

Gwen felt sorry for Pyrrha, before she remembered something inportant. "Well, then you should just tell him exactly how you feel!" She sternly stated.

Pyrrha looked up surprised at Gwen. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me! You can't hide your feeling from him forever, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life! Remember Pyrrha? This is exactly like when me and Ryu tried to confess our feelings for each other." She explained, as the two reminisced about the time that Ryu and Gwen had developed feelings for each other in the first semester. Both of them were afraid to speak the truth to each other, but thanks to the efforts of Pyrrha and their friends, they were both able to confess their love for each other.

Pyrrha opened her eyes and remember. "Ah yes. I do remember, Gwen. But even so, how exactly do I tell him how I feel?"

Gwen rolled her eyes, and put a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Come on now, isn't it obvious? No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines. Just... be honest." Gwen smiled, as Pyrrha remembered the exact sames words that she told Jaune earlier. "In the meantime, would you like to share a dance between friends?"

Pyrrha smiled warmly at Gwen. "I'd like that very much. Thank you Gwen!"

Meanwhile, out in the balcony, Ryu was looking out on the moon when he heard a conversation between Jaune and Neptune going on. Apparently, Jaune was about to ask Weiss out, but she was more interested in Neptune. However, Neptune had declined her offer, much to Jaune's displeasure. The reason he declined Weiss' offer? ... Because Neptune can't dance!

Jaune sighs while placing his palms on the stone banister "Do you like her?"

"Yeah, I mean I don't know her too well yet, but she seems pretty cool." Neptune replied.

 **"** Then just go talk to her. No pickup lines, no suave moves, just be yourself. I've heard that's the way to go."

"Yeah, but then-"

 **"** Hey! You don't have to look cool all the time. In all honesty, if you could be a little less cool, I'd really appreciate it." Jaune retorted, while Neptune considers Jaune's advice.

"Okay, I'll do it! Thanks. You're a really cool guy, Jaune." He said as he approaches Jaune, holding his fist out for a bump _._

Jaune smirked, while rolling his eyes. "Alright, don't lie to my face." He replied as they bump fists and Neptune walks away.

Jaune sighed as he faced the campus, while Ryu, who had heard everything from where he was standing, approached the blonde knight. "That was quite big of you, Jaune."

Jaune turned around to see the blue-haired samurai walking towards him. "Hey Ryu. So I guess you heard everything?"

"Indeed. And I also know how much your heart was meant for Weiss." Ryu smiled. "Believe me, I know how unrequited love feels."

"Yeah, thanks I guess." Jaune replied. "I suppose I'll never find a lady."

"Don't be so sure about that. There's always a meaningful partner out there for everyone. You just haven't figured it out yet." Ryu simply stated.

Jaune was confused with what he said, before he started thinking. "Well, I guess you have a point. I mean, I don't know who could possibly be the one for me? The only girl I know who likes me, besides my mom, is Pyrrha." He smiled, while thinking about her. "The way she trains me to become better, the way she's always there for me, the way she's always staring at me, it's almost as if..." He started to trail off, before realizing the truth. "It's almost as if she..."

"It's almost as if she... _what_?" Ryu asked bluntly, arms folded.

Jaune was shocked for not realizing it sooner. "Almost as if she has feelings... for me!" Jaune smacked his forehead.

"And how do you feel towards Pyrrha?"

"Well, the truth is, as we trained, I've actually developed some strong feeling for her too." He glumly stated, as he was still upset about the recent discovery from before. "Aw man, Ryu. How did I not see it?! I'm such an idiot!"

"Now, now Jaune! Don't worry." Ryu stated. "It's not too late. You can tell Pyrrha the truth right now. She's still in the ballroom."

"I will!" Jaune was about to go, but he remembered a promise. "Oh yeah, but first, there's something I have to do. Can you help me, Ryu?"

Ryu smiled and nodded. "Anything Jaune. What do you need?"

Jaune smiled sheepishly, while rubbing his head. "Can you help me find a dress to wear?"

Ryu folded his arms, and raised an eyebrow at his request. "Come again?"

One hour later into the dance, Damien and Neos decided to take a breather so that Ruby and Yang could continue watching over the dance; Neptune had made his way over to Weiss and accepted her invite to dance, much to her joy. Gwen was waiting with the two of them while waiting for Ryu to return. "Wow, this dance is so much fun!" Gwen smiled over to her two teammates, who nodded in return.

"This is the life, Damien." Neos said to his pal, as they chilled by the punch bowl.

"Tell me about it. I don't know how this could get any better." Damien chuckled.

Before Neos could reply, the ex-rogue looked over to the main entrance and broke out in a huge laughing fit.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Gwen asked, as she started laughing mad as well.

Damien was puzzled by his friends' attitudes, as well as with what everyone else was laughing about. "Neos, Gwen, what are you two... laughing... about...?" He trailed off as he saw what the commotion was, with the crimson haired lad giggling with his pals. "What the heck is that?!" He screamed in laughter.

As everyone else continued to laugh, Pyrrha was the last to figure out the mystery, as she turned around to face Jaune... wearing a white dress! "Jaune?" She asked, trying to hold in the laughter.

Jaune walked over to her, completely unfazed by the laughter around him. "Well, a promise is a promise." He shrugged.

The gladiator continued to hold in the laughter, but eventually even she was in an uncontrollable fit of laughter. "Jaune! You didn't _have_ to!" She stated.

"Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word." Jaune replied, as he extended his hand to Pyrrha. "Now do you wanna stand there and laugh at me, or do _you_ wanna dance?"

Without even a second to think, Pyrrha immediately accepted his offer, as the blonde teen held her by his arm and swept her over to the dance floor. Shortly after that, Nora dragged Ren over to their teammates, where the four of them performed a well choreographed dance number.

While Damien, Gwen, and Neos watched in amazement, Ryu made his way to his team, while addressing them. "It is certainly something to behold, isn't it?" He simply replied.

Gwen smiled mischievously at her date. "I suppose this was your doing, Ryu?"

Ryu held out his arms to shrug. "You could say that. Although, the dress was entirely **his** idea."

Neos chuckled. "Well, I gotta admit, the kid's got more guts than I gave him credit for."

"Yeah. Plus, he's not half-bad in a dress." Damien muttered, with his teammates looking at him in wonder. "Uh... forget I said that!" He blushed, with the four of them chuckling. "I know the two of you were responsible for getting them together. Well done." He smiled towards Ryu and Gwen, who smiled backed in response, while watching their friends enjoy themselves.

"Hey Pyrrha, can I tell you something?" Jaune asked.

"Sure Jaune, what is it?" She asked.

Jaune was a little nervous, but he took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know how to tell you this, but lately, I find myself being more and more attracted to a certain someone."

"Jaune, you don't have to finish that sentence, if you wanna tell Weiss..." The gladiator stated, before being stopped.

"No, I'm not talking about Weiss! I'm... talking about someone else."

Pyrrha was surprised with what he was saying. "Well, who is it..."

Jaune blushed before smiling. "You."

Pyrrha broke away from Jaune, with a shocked expression on her face, and a heavy blush. "W-what?"

"It's true. I mean, most girls have either turned me down, or just avoided me altogether. But you've always stood by me, always training me to become the Huntsman I've always dreamed of becoming." Pyrrha was stunned, as Jaune continued. "And lately, during our most recent training sessions, I've found myself attracted to you in a way I never would've imagined! I don't know if I'm good enough, but I would be the luckiest guy in the world if I get to be with you; together. What do you say, Pyrrha? Am I your knight in shining armour?"

Everyone was silent, as even the DJ paused the music for the moment that was going on in centre stage. Team DRGN faced the scene unfolding with big smiles on their faces; with Ren, Nora, Ruby, and Yang standing beside them to see.

Pyrrha was heavily moved by Juane's speech, as tears happily flowed down her face. "Oh Jaune. Yes, you're more than perfect for me. Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my days alongside you!" She replied, while caressing his cheek.

Jaune chuckled lightly, while embracing his girl. "So... now what?"

"Oh for crying out loud, just kiss already!" Neos shouted out towards the two, causing everyone to stare at him. "C'mon folks, you know you want to."

Neos started up a cheer, with Damien, Gwen, and Ryu joining in; followed by Ren, Nora, Ruby, and Yang, until everyone joined in. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

As the two watched everyone chanting, they faced each other, before bringing their heads closer to each other, and locking lips. As soon as Jaune and Pyrrha kissed, there was a massive cheer in the ballroom, as everyone, including their friends applauded. "Well, I think it's safe to say that this dance was a total success!" Weiss addressed the group as she and Blake made their way.

"Yup!" Damien nodded as the dance neared the end, signalling that it was time for the slow-dances. All the couples made their way to the dance floor, as Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN all managed to find happiness in this joyous events. Not only was their friendship in good spirits, but the love that the couples in the group had for their significant other was unbreakable.

* * *

 **Whew! That takes care of that! I hope it wasn't too sweet and tangy, I just really wanted to cover it, since the idea for incorporating the dance episode for it had just came to me. I hope it was something to behold. I wanna state a few things for the record though. First off, since I didn't give any buildup as to why Ryu and Gwen hooked up, so I put this there as a hint. But don't worry, I'll expand on their relationship in future chapters. Secondly, since Jaune and Pyrrha were canonically a pair, I just wanted to do this there since it was so very obvious. The thing is, I'm not usually a fan of the scenarios where there's two people who love each other so much that everyone is screaming for them to hook up. What I mean is, sure the buildup is fine, but just don't make it so damn long when it's painfully obvious that it's gonna happen. And if you're going to keep building up to the big damn moment, at least make it worth the wait! To quote Shia Lebouf, "Just do it!" Good-bye!**


	19. Chapter 19: The Mission - Part 1

**Hello yet again. It's time for another chapter! We're nearing the end of the Volume 2 arc. From here on out, Team DRGN will be sticking together as a team.**

* * *

Monday morning arrived, as Team DRGN was happily lounging around, still feeling the happiness from yesterday's dance. "Ah, life is good." Damien happily sighed, as he lounged on his bed.

"I agree. Last night was truly something to behold." Ryu smiled back at his leader, sitting on his bed.

"Tell me about it. You and Gwen have each other, and Neos and I have some of the greatest girls of all time." He said contently, staring into the ceiling.

"Oh yeah. Ruby is so amazing I just can't stand it!" Neos fidgeted excitedly.

Damien chuckled as he gushed over his girlfriend. "I know exactly how you feel. Yang's the golden sun that gives me the motivation I need to reach my fullest potential."

Gwen put a hand over her heart when she heard that. "Damien, that's so sweet." A quick thought came to her head. "Do you think that we'll really be able to keep these relationships for the rest of our lives; even after we graduate from Beacon?"

Damien sat up from his bed, and turned to face Gwen. "Well sure, Gwen. I don't see why not. I'm absolutely certain that it can be done!"

Ryu put his arm on her shoulder and pulled her towards him. "Of course. The bonds we shares will always last a lifetime." He smiled as he kissed her cheek.

Gwen smiled as she happily returned the kiss. "Thank you all. I know we'll stay this way forever. All twelve of us!"

As they heard Team RWBY all laughing next door, having a good time, Neos had an idea. "Hey Damien. What do you say we pay our girls a visit?"

Damien leapt off the bed. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's roll!"

"We'll go too. I think it's a good idea we all do things as a team today." Ryu smiled, as he and Gwen held each other.

"Sure Ryu. Let's all go greet Team RWBY together!" Damien smirked. After locking up their dorm room, Team DRGN walked over to the room next door. Damien knocked on Team RWBY's door.

Yang opened the door, and was happy to see her boyfriend at the front. "Oh Damien. Hi, how nice of you to drop in!"

"Hey there, beautiful." Damien waved his eyebrows. "Mind if we come in?"

Yang stared back flirtatiously at Damien. "You bet, hot stuff. Please, go right ahead!" She let the team in, as the other members of Team RWBY were happy to see them.

"Yoo-hoo, Ruby! How's my favourite girl doin-" Neos called out, before Ruby dashed towards him, and tackled him into a big hug.

"Oooh Neos. I'm so glad you're here!" Ruby squealed, as she buried her face into his chest.

Neos was laughing at seeing her so happy, as he smiled back, tussling her hair. "Whoa, you're sure in a bright and chipper mood! What's up?" He turned to see her pointing towards a happy barking dog.

"Oh wow, when did you guys get a dog?" Damien asked, surprised.

"Oh y'know, just a gift our dad sent us via mail. It's our family dog, Zwei!" Yang happily explained, as she wrapped her arms around Damien.

"Well, he certainly is such a thoughtful man. You two must be lucky to have such a wonderful father." Damien smiled, putting his arms around her.

"Aww, well I'm also lucky to have such a thoughtful boyfriend." Yang grinned, as the two shared a warm kiss.

"Hi Weiss, you sure are enjoying herself." Gwen happily smiled, as the heiress was busy petting Zwei.

"Hello Gwen. Yes, isn't he just the cutest little guy?" Weiss replied, gushing over the pet. The two white haired girls sat and played with the loveable mutt.

Ryu saw Blake sheltering herself from the dog. "Hello Blake. How's it going?" He smiled towards the Faunus.

Blake smiled sheepishly. "Oh, hi Ryu. Just staying up here. Don't mind me."

Ryu climbed up the bund bed, and sat next to her. "Well, I hope you don't mind, but I bought a new book I saw the other day. I thought you might enjoy it." He held up the novel towards her.

Blake saw the book, and smiled at it. "How thoughtful of you. Thank you Ryu." She greeted, as she retrieved it.

As the bonding continued, a message blared all over the intercom, as everyone heard Professor Goodwitch's voice. "Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?"

They all remembered that today would be the day where they get to choose their team missions. The two teams decided to head on over.

"So, do you girls know where you're planning to travel to?" Damien asked Ruby.

"Well, I was hoping we could head somewhere in the Southeast of here." Ruby answered.

Neos thought for a second by what she meant by that. "Southeast? Isn't that where you said Torchwick and The White Fang would be hiding?" He asked.

"Yup. That's the one!" Ruby smiled and nodded.

"I don't know, that sounds like an extremely dangerous mission. Are you sure you're up for this, Ruby?" Ryu asked, concerned for her safety.

"Of course, Ryu. We can't just by and let them terrorize the Kingdoms! It's time to put an end to this!" The red haired leader stated determinedly.

Neos chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her. "Well, in that case, count me in!"

Everyone turned to face him, surprised by his outburst. "Neos, are you sure about this? Don't you wanna follow your team?" Ruby asked.

Damien chimed in, reminding Ruby of something. "Did you forget? You said it yourself; we aren't just teams, we fight as one! So, if you girls are serious about this, then I'll go too!"

Yang turned to give her boyfriend a big bear hug. "Oh Damien, you're so thoughtful! That's what I love about you!"

Damien gave a weak chuckle, while gasping for air. "Y-Yang, can't b-breathe…" After she let him go, he turned towards his teammates. "Ryu? Gwen? I hope it's all right if we join Team RWBY for our mission."

The two smiled and nodded. "Of course, Damien. I will gladly do my best to keep us safe." Ryu promised.

"And that goes double for me!" Gwen added.

Ruby smiled as she was glad to have Team DRGN on board. "All right! Together, nothing can stop us!"

As soon as everyone reached the auditorium, they saw it was packed with students from all four different Kingdoms.

Professor Goodwitch gathered everyone's attention. "Quiet! Quiet please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."

After she stepped aside, Ozpin stood forward, as he was prepared to deliver a huge speech. "Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." After finishing, everyone made their way outside the amphitheatre.

Teams RWBY and DRGN approached a hologram screen to select a location. "This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!" Ruby cheered.

Yang smiled. "Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!"

"Let's check "search and destroy!"" Weiss added.

They searched around the southeast portion of the map, before finally finding a match. "Ah, over there! Quadrant 5 is need of some Grimm to be cleared out!" Gwen pointed.

"Hey, that area's in the Southeast!" Neos exclaimed.

"Perfect! Let's get to it!" Damien added. When he and Ruby tried to register their teams for the task, a message displayed on the board, forbidding any first-year students from taking this mission.

Ryu sighed as he folded his arms. "Somehow, I knew it wasn't going to be this easy."

"Any other ideas?" Blake asked.

Ruby thought for a moment, before coming up with an idea. "Well, we could mail ourselves there." She sheepishly said, causing everyone to stare at her.

"Well, that's one option." Ozpin called out, as he made his way to the group. "Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that you eight will make your way there no matter which job you choose." He sternly stated, causing everyone to glare at the red headed girl.

"Whatever makes you say that?" Ruby shyly asked.

Ozpin continued to ask questions. "I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a hideout in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago."

After everyone struggled to answer, Ozpin decided to cut them a break. "I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" So, he pulled out his scroll, and made a few adjustments, granting the two teams access to the mission.

Damien bowed in gratitude. "We won't let you down. Thank you, professor."

Ozpin nodded back. "Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck." And with that, he left.

Teams RWBY and DRGN exited the building, while looking for the airship that would take them to Quadrant 5. They felt a little put-off from what Professor Ozpin said to them, but they kept their spirits up. Suddenly, they noticed Team CFVY returning late from their mission, as they all ran over to greet their old friend, Velvet.

"Hey Velvet! Long-time no see, right?" Damien waved to her, gaining her attention as she happily waved back.

"Velvet? Are you okay?" Blake asked, concerned as to why they have arrived late.

"I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." Velvet assured her.

Weiss, who was also worried, demanded to know. "Your mission was supposed to end a week ago! What happened?"

Velvet shifted uncomfortably as she was hesitant to explain. "Nothing happened. It was just ... there were just so many..." Before continuing, she saw everyone's nervous expressions when she decided to reassure them. "Oh, but don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing Huntsmen, so you should be fine."

Gwen nodded back. "Right."

"Well, I should go. Be safe, okay?" The bunny Faunus bid them, before joining her team.

There was a moment of silence as everyone started to worry, but it was broken once Ruby decided to speak for everyone. "We can do this. We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now."

Blake agreed. "Right."

"Besides, it won't just be us. We'll be fighting alongside a professional Huntsman!" Damien chimed in.

"Yeah!" Yang cheered, fist raised in the air.

"I wonder who he is?" Neos wondered.

Once they made their way, to everyone's shock and dismay, the eight of them learned that the assigned Huntsman in question, was none other than the eccentric Professor (Doctor) Oobleck.

The good doctor, who was wearing explorer gear, greeted the two stunned teams. "Why, hello girls and boys! Who's ready to fight for their lives?"

After getting over the shock, Weiss was the first to speak up. "Professor Oobleck?"

The professor preceded to swiftly ramble on. "Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, children, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And... It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!" He finishes as he quickly steps back. "Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind! Schedule!" With that, the good doctor went to his airship.

Another moment of silence came, before Neos decided to speak up. "Well, it could be worse." Everyone turned to face him, before he finished his thought. "At least we're not traveling with Professor Port." That caused all eight of them to shudder at that statement.

Ruby tried to maintain a positive attitude. "Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse." Everyone's head's hung down in shame.

After bidding farewell to Team JNPR, as well as Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias, Team RWBY and Team DRGN all got on board with Professor Oobleck.

* * *

 **And that's it for this chapter. This is going to have more action in the next few chapters, including an interesting twist later on.**

 **Now, I'd like to like this opportunity to respond to an honest review I've read earlier ago from this one guest. First off, I honestly wasn't trying to turn this into a romance story, but this is now leaning towards it. No matter, this is the path I have chosen. Secondly, I know it looks like this story hasn't been given too much attention, but I don't care. I am simply doing this because I feel inspired after watching RWBY and by reading many RWBY OC stories. Besides, if you really wish to know how much attention this story has, I will tell you that it has gotten over 1.3k views so far! And finally, whether this is worth writing or not does not matter to me! I've enjoyed what I have written, and I will tell you with total honestly, it was an absolute thrill to do. I had fun doing this, and I'm glad to have went for it, regardless of what anyone may think. I thank you very much for your review, and I hope you have a great day!**


	20. Chapter 20: The Mission - Part 2

**Hello again everyone, another day another chapter. After reading another good review from the last chapter, I took it upon myself to delve a bit more further into my other characters. I know I rushed the whole relationship between Ryu and Gwen, which I'll admit, I should have never done in the first place, but rest assured, these two OCs will be given more attention. Especially now that they will be sticking together with Damien and Neos, as well as Team RWBY, for the rest of the story. Also, as for my character backstories, perhaps I will write up a character summary for each member of Team DRGN, addressing everything about them, including their reasons for becoming Huntsmen/Huntresses. In retrospect, maybe I should have done this in the beginning, but oh well.**

 **Anyways, without further delay, let's start the chapter.**

* * *

Once all nine Huntsmen/Huntresses were on board, Professor Oobleck quickly gave a brief explanation of their location before they started their descent. Mountain Glenn, originally an expansion of Vale, until it was infested by Grimm, which now also serves as a hideout.

Everyone leapt out from the airship and onto some abandoned streets, armed with their weapons, except for the professor who was holding a thermos.

Oobleck turned to face Teams RWBY and DRGN. "Ladies and gentlemen! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntsmen and Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?" All eight nodded, until the professor zoomed in on Ruby, who was fooling around with her backpack. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school."

Ruby, who tried to find an excuse, replied. "But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't."

Damien tried to stand up for her. "Well, she's not wrong."

Doctor Oobleck adjusted his glasses before answering. "Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return."

Ruby tried to find another reason, until Oobleck started to lose his patience with the girl. "Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with..."

Before he could continue, Zwei popped his head out of the bag, answering the professor's question, and causing everyone to stare at her.

"Oh boy." Neos muttered to himself, while Ruby quietly whispered for her pet to get back in the bag.

Oobleck, who looked ready to explode, spoke in a calm tone. "We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog?"

Before Ruby could explain, the professor dashed towards her to hold Zwei, knocking Ruby down to the ground. "Genius! Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" He swiftly explained, while twirling the happy canine in his arms.

Everyone stared in surprise from the unexpected reaction. "I'm a genius!" Ruby proudly stated, causing Weiss, Yang, Damien, Ryu, and Gwen to face-palm.

"Yes. You sure are." Neos said, patting her on the head. "Anyways, what's the plan?"

This snapped the doctor out of the trance. "Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" He sets Zwei down before continuing. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm."

"Um… what?" Ruby asked, confused as well as her teammates.

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." He explained, just as soon as a beowolf appeared.

All eight students readied their weapons, but professor Oobleck ordered them to cease and desist. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent." He points out.

"So, what do we do now?" Damien questioned.

"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." The good doctor elaborated.

"How long do we wait?" Blake wondered.

Oobleck answered. "It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months - and there's the whole pack." He finished as soon as hordes of beowolves approached from all four directions.

"So, I guess tracking is out of the question?" Neos sarcastically replied.

"Pretty much." Damien replied.

"So, what's the plan?" Yang asked.

"Show me what you're capable of!" Oobleck ordered, as everyone readied for battle.

"All right, since they're coming from all corners, how about we split up into teams of two?" Damien planned, to which everyone nodded. "I'll take the ones on the north!"

"I'm with you!" Yang smiled, as the two brawlers moved.

"I got the south!" Ruby pointed Crescent Rose to the Grimm on the south.

"Same goes for me!" Neos put his hand on her shoulder, as they dashed.

"I'll take the Grimm coming from the East!" Blake stated.

"I will assist you!" Ryu nodded, as they proceeded.

"That leaves the West!" Weiss pointed.

"And I'm with you!" Gwen added, as they moved to their side.

Once everyone was in position, they put their combat and teamwork skills to work.

 **In the North…**

Damien and Yang got into fighting position, back-to-back. "So, any ideas?" Yang asked the crimson leader.

"Yeah, punch first, questions later!" Damien smirked.

"Sounds perfect!" Yang grinned back, as she fired several shots from Ember Celica at several beowolves to the left. After punching a few more, she gave one final smirk while delivering a final blow to one. Meanwhile, Damien shot a stream of fire from his Twin Dragon Fangs, completely torching the beowolves from the right. He gave several flame-charged punches and kicks towards several others.

Once they were confronted by a much larger Beowolf, the two nodded to each other as they dashed towards the beast, as they both dished out a powerful fire punch through its body. The beowolf collapsed from the two punch holes in its chest, and eventually dissolved. Yang and Damien gave each-other a high five, followed by a quick kiss.

"Man, you sure pack 'a lot of punch!'" Damien smirked towards Yang, while she squealed at his pun and gave him a tight bear-hug.

 **In the South…**

Ruby and Neos had an easy time with their Grimm horde, as their swift movement allowed them to dodge many attacks. Neos casted several bolts of electricity upward from his Claws of Mjolnir, as a huge ray of thunder crashed onto several beowolves, electrocuting them. He slashes towards several more, and after latching onto Ruby's scythe, he launched himself forward as a spinning drill, impaling more beasts in a straight line.

Ruby twirled Crescent Rose around the beowolves around her, cutting them down. She then shot towards a few more, taking them down.

"Well now, you've certainly got a lot of flair in you. Very nice!" Neos quickly pulled Ruby into a hug, twirling her around, while Ruby giggled at her boyfriend's tomfoolery.

 **In the East…**

Blake and Ryu drew their weapons, with Blake slicing several beowolves with Gambol Shroud. She them fired several more shots at some at the distance. Ryu was having an easier time with his horde, while creating a tornado to trap the Grimm. He then leaped into it, cutting down the beowolves inside with his Yahto Blade.

"Blake, behind you!" Ryu shouted, as Blake was almost clawed down by a beowolf. Thankfully, the ninja created a shadow clone with her semblance, while Ryu shot at the beast by transforming his katana into a rifle.

"Whew! Thanks!" Blake smiled towards the swordsman, who nodded back.

 **In the West…**

Weiss and Gwen were able to use their Dust to easily freeze the Grimm in place. Weiss propelled herself using her glyphs while cutting down the beowolves using Myrtenaster. Meanwhile, Gwen shot several ice bolts at the Grimm from the otherside from her Iceborn Bow. Then, she summoned a giant ice knight, while controlling its motions with her hand. She made the knight slam its sword in the ground, destroying the remaining Grimm.

"Impressive work! I've never seen such a display with summoning!" Weiss admitted.

"Oh, thank you. It's nothing special, really." Gwen humbly bowed towards her.

After finishing up, the four groups all joined up back in the centre, where Professor Oobleck had been carefully examining everyone's performance. "Wonderful! Simply wonderful! You've all displayed a tremendous amount of skill and teamwork, and by doing so, you have slain the Grimm in such record time!" He took a quick sip before looking upwards. "And wouldn't you know it, it appears that the sun is setting. Perhaps now is the time to set up camp!"

Sunset had arrived, as everyone was setting camp on top of an abandoned building. Neos and Ryu finishing gathering some firewood for a fire.

"Okay Damien, light it up!" Neos said, as Damien aimed his flamethrower gauntlets.

"W-wait, not too…!" Ryu warned, before the crimson haired lad accidentally incinerated the sticks. Everyone glared at him, before sighing.

"Uh… oops!" Damien said, while rubbing his head from embarrassment. After re-setting the fire place, Damien shot a small shot of fire on the fireplace, successfully creating warmth for the two teams. "That's better."

Once everyone settled around the fire, Oobleck was keeping watch for any attackers. Eventually, it was Ruby's turn to keep watch, so as she and Zwei went to keep watch, everyone else had turned in for the night.

While everyone was trying to sleep, Ryu sat down while crossing his legs, and did some meditation around the fire. His concentration was broken when he heard a voice. "Ryu?"

His eyes twitched whenever his meditation was interrupted, but when he turned and saw it was Gwen who called him, he sighed. "Yes, Gwen?"

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to interrupt you." She replied. "I was wondering why you always meditate before you sleep?" When she noticed the swordsman being unable to answer, she grew worried. "T-that's okay. If you're not comfortable..."

"That's okay. I can tell you." Ryu smiled towards her. "I meditate because I'm always thinking about the events that has transpired. Sometimes, I doubt if what I am doing is enough."

Gwen was surprised when she heard his confession. "What do you mean? You've always performed exceptionally well. I don't know what this is about, but you need to always believe in what you are doing. Not just for yourself, but for all the people around you!" She stated sternly. "Besides, if anything, I need to become stronger."

After a moment of silence, Ryu smiled towards the archer. "Come now, Gwen. I think you're already strong enough as it is. As long as we're together, I know we will prevail against whatever comes our way. I'll make sure to keep everyone safe. And most of all, I will always protect you; more than just as a friend."

Gwen smiled back as she hugged Ryu warmly. "Thank you, Ryu. With you by my side, I can feel the strength bursting inside of me." After a quick thought, she had a small proposal. "Would it be all right if I sat beside you while you meditated?"

Ryu was surprised when he heard her ask that, but he had no objections. He pulled her close to him, while covering her with his long jacket to keep her warm. She rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes almost dozing off, while Ryu gently kissed her forehead, causing her to smile. He would always be there for her, and she would always be there for him too.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the building, as Ruby sat there, close to drifting off, she felt a pair of hands holding her arms. "Hey Rubes, how are you holding up?" She turned to see Neos looking at her, feeling startled.

"Neos! You scared me!" Ruby pouted, as her boyfriend came to see her.

"Sorry about that! I just wanted to check on you. Feeling alright?" He asked his girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Especially now that you're here." She happily stated, resting her head on his chest.

"Hey now, don't fall asleep just yet. I got something for you." Neos said, as he reach into his pocket, and pulled out a bunch of odd-shaped cookies.

Ruby saw the cookies and was feeling overjoyed. "Ooh cookies! Neos, you shouldn't have!" She squealed as she quickly popped one into her mouth, but spat it out. "Ugh, where'd you get these?"

"I made them myself…" He flat out stated while smirking, causing Ruby's face to pale up.

"Oh… um, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…" Ruby tried to assure him.

"Nah, don't worry, Ruby. I know I'm not much of a chef." Neos admitted, rubbing his head out of embarrassment. "I probably should have asked Ren for some cooking tips. Though, I did put a lot of chocolate chips for you."

"No really, there actually not too bad." Ruby tried to compliment him, by eating another cookie, while struggling to swallow.

Neos chuckled while watching his girlfriend trying to cheer him up. "Oh come on Ruby. You don't need to do that. I think you're sweet enough already." He smiled as he kissed her cheek.

Ruby blushed, as she happily returned his kiss. "Thank you, Neos. You're the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. If only my mom were here to meet you…" She faced the floor.

"Ruby…" Neos sadly said, feeling worried.

"But it's okay. Because I have Yang, Weiss, Blake, my dad, my Uncle Qrow, Team JNPR, Team DRGN, Zwei… and of course, you." Ruby smiled with tears of happiness in her eyes. "And as long as you're all here, I'll be just fine." She finished explaining, while embracing Neos.

Neos hugged her, and wiped away the tears. "It's gonna be fine. We'll get through this together, I promise. I'll always stay by your side." As they held each other, Zwei started barking loudly to get their attention.

"What is it Zwei?" Ruby asked her, as the dog pointed to the level below them. The two saw two White Fang members conversing with each other.

"White Fang crooks? What are they doing there?" Neos wondered.

"Well, Oobleck did say this place serves as a hideout." Ruby pointed out. After the two WF guards left, Ruby was about to message everyone, but her scroll had a low signal. Before they could walk back, the pavement collapsed on them, with Ruby and Zwei hanging on for dear life.

"Ruby!" Neos shouted as he struggled to pull her up, with Ruby holding Zwei in one arm. "I can't pull you up with one arm! Throw Zwei up here first!"

"Okay, Hang on!" Ruby complied as Zwei landed next to him. "All right, here I go!" Unfortunately, the rest of the pavement collapsed as Ruby fell through the hole.

"RUBY!" Neos screamed.

"It's okay, I'm fine!" Ruby shouted. "Quick, bring everyone here!"

"But I can't just…" Neos was about to jump down.

"Please Neos, we need everyone's help! Just do it!" Ruby demanded.

Neos shook his fist in anger, but complied with her wishes. "C'mon Zwei, we gotta warn everybody!" Zwei barked as he dashed ahead.

As everyone, including the professor were asleep, they were quickly awoken by Zwei's loud barking.

"Wake up everybody, this is an emergency!" Neos shouted.

Damien rubbed his eyes. "Ngh, Neos? What's the matter with you?"

Yang stood up. "And Zwei? Where's Ruby?"

Neos was panicking and spoke too fast. "HolegroundRubyfellWhiteFangbadOhmygodwhatthefu-"

Damien shook his flabbergasted friend. "Get a hold of yourself, Neos! Now, I want you to take a deep breath, and calmly tell me, what's the problem?"

Neos took a deep breath, and spoke while waving his arms. "Ruby and I were keeping watch when we spotted some White Fang members talking to each other!"

"What!? The White Fang's here?" Blake shouted, worried.

"Yeah! Me and Ruby were about to alert everyone, but the pavement below us collapsed and she fell through a hole!" Neos continued to explain.

"She what?!" Yang yelled, her hair going up in flames, her eyes glowing red with anger.

"I'm so sorry Yang! I tried to pull her up! I really did!" Neos was worried about facing her wrath.

"Relax Neos, it wasn't your fault!" Damien assured him, while putting his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "And you can bet that we're going down there, and we will save Ruby!"

Yang calmed down, and put her hand on Damien's hand. "I know. Thank you Damien." She smiled as she turned to face Neos. "And don't worry, I'm not mad at you, Neos. I know you would have done whatever it would have took to rescue her!" She reassured the ex-rogue.

"Everyone, gather your weapons! For I fear that she may be in trouble!" Doctor Oobleck grimly stated.

The group made their way to the hole that Ruby fell through. They also noticed Crescent Rose lying there, next to the hole."This is the hole she fell through!" Neos pointed out.

"Fell?" The professor asked, to which Neos nodded. After a moment of thought, he realized something very important. "Oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE!"

Blake, worried about Oobleck's discovery, asked. "What is it?"

"How could I be so stupid?! " He slapped his head in frustration.

Yang asked. "Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong? "

Oobleck proceeded to explain to the seven students. "Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people! Working people commuting to the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"

"Doctor Oobleck, what are you saying?" Damien wondered.

"My dear boy, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!" He reiterated.

"You mean they've been working in caves?" Ryu questioned.

"No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation; the city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start! As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city! In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they had cut themselves off from the surface!" The doctor continued.

"An underground village?" Yang asked.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until... an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb." He finished before staring into the hole. "If Ruby is down there… We must find her!" He stated as his thermos transformed into a weapon of some sort.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go already!" Neos ordered, as he quickly jumped into the hole, much to the shock of everyone else, including the professor.

"Neos! Wait up!" Damien shouted as he leapt after his pal.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" Yang jumped in as well.

After Weiss, Blake, Ryu, Gwen, Zwei, and Doctor Oobleck regained their composure, they eventually followed the other three fighters.

* * *

 **And that's the end of that chapter. The end is near, but even so, I don't really wanna stop writing for this story. Perhaps I'll try and write up some other chapters once I finish following the actual story arc. Of course, I don't wish to write anything relating to Volume 3, since I just want to keep this pleasant and peaceful before... well, y'know. If you guys really want me to delve into the Volume 3 Arc, then maybe I'll continue this in a separate story. Please let me know what you think, because I really do appreciate the feedback.**


	21. Chapter 21: The Mission - Part 3

**Hey folks, welcome back to my story. Things are closing in, there's going to be a lot of combat in this chapter, since it is obviously based on the Volume 2 finale. However, there's a big twist right at the end.** **Stay until the end to find out.**

* * *

After Blake, Weiss, Ryu, Gwen, Doctor Oobleck, and Zwei looked around the underground caverns, they saw Damien, Yang, and Neos beating the tar out of several White Fang goons.

Neos grabbed an unconscious goon, and started violently shaking him. "All right, you son of a bitch! You better tell me where the hell Ruby is, or so help me…!" He glared, with his teeth clenched.

"Neos!" Ruby shouted while dashing away from her captor, Roman Torchwick.

"Ruby!" Yang, Neos, and Damien all happily shouted as the four embraced in a group hug.

Everyone else ran up to reunite with the four. "Are you alright?" Weiss asked.

Ruby assured. "I'm fine, I'm fine! But listen! Torchwick's got all kinds of weapons and robots down there."

"What?!" Blake exclaimed while she hands Ruby her weapon.

"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars!" She explained.

Oobleck scoffed. "Ahhhh, that's ridiculous. These tunnels are sealed, the tracks lead to a dead-end."

However, Roman's voice echoed all over the intercom. "Get to your places, we are leaving now!" After that, the train started to move towards the tunnel.

"Well, it's looks like they're still going somewhere!" Neos pointed out.

"We need backup. Let me call Jaune!" Ruby reached for her scroll and tries to dial Team JNPR, but her scroll still got a low signal. "I can't get through!"

Weiss asked, concerned. "What do we do now?"

Well, only one we can do." Damien answered while facing the train, as everyone knew what he meant and nodded in agreement.

"We're stopping that train!" Ruby pointed Crescent Rose, as the Two Teams, including Oobleck and Zwei dashed towards the runaway train.

After everyone got aboard the train, they were greeted by dozens of White Fang members. To make matters worse, each train cart was loaded with explosives. As one of the carts decoupled itself, it exploded into a nearby wall, creating a hole, and causing several types of Grimm to emerge.

"Whoa! Just what exactly is he planning?" Ryu wondered.

"Oh no…" Oobleck said, as the Grimm advanced towards them. "He's planning to lead Grimm to the city!"

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!" The doctor elaborated.

"That's insane!" Blake stated.

As another train car decouples from the rest, Oobleck ordered everyone except for Ruby and Neos to proceed into the cabins and stop the bombs, while the three of them, including Zwei, battled the WF guards who were now piloting Atlesian Paladins.

Meanwhile, in the first cabin, as the other six made their way to the end, Neopolitan flew down with her umbrella in hand, ready to stop them. Yang and Damien decided to battle her, while the remaining four fled to the next car. The second cabin was no different, as the White Fang Lieutenant was waiting for them. Weiss and Gwen stayed to face him, but first Weiss gave Blake a few different Dust containers to use. After Blake and Ryu reached the end, they were greeted by Torchwick himself. Everyone readied their weapons as they prepared to face their respective opponents.

Yang and Damien looked down upon Neo, who was clearly a foot shorter than the two. However, Neo was unfazed by the difference in size, as she gave an evil smirk. Yang dashed to her, and gave a quick punch, but the little apprentice managed to deflect the punch, causing her to stumble back. Damien fired a torrent of flames from his Twin Dragon Fangs at Neo, who blocked the fire with her umbrella. After pushing away the fire, Damien quickly leapt to her and delivered an axe-kick, but the little girl was quick to react, and countered with a high kick to Damien's gut, causing him to crash into the wall.

"Damien!" Yang screamed.

"I'm fine-ugh!" Damien tried to assure, but held his stomach in pain, as he struggled to get back up.

Yang turned to face their attacker, who was smiling sadistically. Yang's eyes started glowing red with anger, as she dashed towards Neo, giving several swift punches and kicks. Neo was able to take advantage of Yang's rage, as she was able to successfully dodge or parry every single attack. Eventually, once Yang tired herself out, Neo kicked Yang to the same wall that Damien flew into.

Enraged by the fact that they were getting their butts handed to them, the two fighters readied their gauntlets and unleashed a heavy fire barrage at Neo. Neo dodged all the projectiles and tried to impale them with her umbrella. The two jumped to opposite sides, and dashed towards her from both sides. Unfortunately, the girl managed to block every single attack. Then, after pushing Yang back, she grabbed Damien's leg, and delivered several swift kicks, knocking him into several crates.

Yang's fury reached her limits, as she dashed towards Neo, her hair ablaze. She fired several shots from Ember Celica, and gave many powerful punches and kicks, but alas, the girl was simply too fast. After leaving herself open, Neo performed a backflip, and kicked Yang upwards, causing her head to hit the ceiling, and knocking her unconscious. Neo grinned in victory, while walking towards her.

She unveiled a hidden blade from her parasol, as she was prepared to finish Yang off. However, before that could happen, a small explosion came from the crate mess, as Damien got up, his hands and feet were coated in flames. He swiftly dashed between the two, prepared to defend Yang at all costs. He gave several fire-powered punches and kicks with Neo continuing to block them. However, the heat from Damien's attacks proved to be too much, as she saw her umbrella started to catch fire. While she was focusing on putting out the flames, Damien saw the opportunity and pushed Neo back, causing her back to slam on the wall behind her.

Neo got up, and gave an annoyed look to the angered crimson haired lad. Damien got into a fighting stance, and was ready for what she had planned. However, before the two could clash, a dark portal opened behind Damien, as a mysterious female swordfighter emerged.

Damien looked at the new challenger, and saw she had long black hair, a black-and-red outfit, and a Grimm mask that almost covered her entire face. He glared at the woman, as he thought she was part of the White Fang, but he turned to see that Neo was terrified at her presence too. The mysterious swordswoman dashed towards Neo, and slashed at her with her long katana. Neo barely dodged it as she tried to escape.

The masked woman sheathed her weapon as she made her way to the two brawlers. "Stay back!" Damien gritted angrily, as the swordswoman was unfazed by his threats. "You better not try anything to kill Yang, or so help me-"

However, his anger quickly faded when he saw Neo lunging towards the masked samurai, with her back completely turned. Sensing danger, he decided to push the woman out of harm's way, and completely blocked Neo's attack by creating a crimson force field around him. After seeing Damien and the swordswoman in her way, she decided to forfeit the battle and escape.

Damien sighed as he looked down on the ground. "Sorry about that. Are you all right?" He asked the swordswoman. After looking down, he noticed the samurai's mask lying on the ground, and he saw the woman hiding her face, wishing to keep her identity a secret. He picked up the mask, and handed it to the samurai, while covering his eyes. "Here. I know you like to keep your secrets, so I won't peek!"

The samurai quickly grabbed the mask, and put it back on. She opened a portal and was prepared to leave, but she was stopped when Damien called out to her.

"Wait!" Damien shouted, causing the samurai to turn and face him. "Would you please tell me who you are?" The masked samurai stared quietly towards him, before he sighed and crossed his arms. "I guess not. No matter, you saved both of us, so I can't call you an enemy. Whoever you are, I thank you!" He bowed to her.

"I didn't do it for you." The woman spoke through her mask, her voice made unrecognizable. "I did it for her!" She pointed towards the still unconscious Yang.

"I see." Damien simply muttered, as he made his way to check on her. He was happy to see she was just fine.

"You have strong feeling towards her?" The samurai asked, causing Damien to look up to see what she had said. "That girl, do you care for her?"

Damien was puzzled as to why she was asking him, but decided to answer back. "Yes. Yang means everything to me. I would gladly do whatever it takes to protect her, no matter what!"

"I see. Well then, make sure to guard her with your life!" She answered, before vanishing into the portal.

Yang awoke and saw the mysterious woman exiting the portal. She ten saw Damien holding her head up. "D-Damien?" She weakly stated.

Damien jerked his head around and saw Yang was alive and well. "Yang! I'm so glad you're okay!" He pulled her into a tight embrace, while Yang hugged back with a small smile of her face and her eyes slightly weary. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what I would have done if you…"

"Relax Damien! I'm not going anywhere." She assured him. "Besides, I'm alive, aren't I? Thanks to you… and that mysterious woman." She smiled.

"Yeah…" That was all Damien could say. "Anyways, we need to get out of here. Can you still fight?"

"You bet your ass I can!" Yang got up and gave two thumbs up. "What about you?"

"Damn right!" Damien pumped his fist, as they both proceeded deeper into the train.

Weiss and Gwen faced off against the White Fang Lieutenant, who readied his giant chainsaw-sword, as he growled menacingly through his mask. The two girls raised their weapons, ready for anything.

"Finally, I get to kill a Schnee…" He said sadistically.

"Over my dead body!" Gwen yelled back.

The Lieutenant charged directly at the girls, as Weiss created a large glyph in front of her, shielding them from his attacks. Weiss then slashed at him with Myrtenaster, pushing him back. After recovering, the angry Faunus charged back at them, but Gwen froze the ground he was running, causing him to lose his balance as he skidded towards the two. The two jumped out of the way, as the WF Lieutenant regained his balance.

Gwen detached her IceBorn bow into twin blades, and swiped at the Lieutenant. However, the Faunus was able to guard himself, and shoved Gwen into some crates. Weiss saw the burly man had let his guard down, and quickly dashed over to him, dealing several slashes before clashing weapons. But, the WF Lieutenant was much bigger than her, and shoved her into the same crates as Gwen.

The two girls used this opportunity for a swift attack. Weiss raised Myrtenaster and combine it with the Dust to create haste glyphs. While the heiress concentrated creating glyphs around her target, Gwen shot several ice arrows at the Lieutenant's feet, completely freezing his legs to the ground. Weiss then dashed and ricocheted off each glyph, dealing fast slashes to him, and knocking him down to the ground.

When Weiss leapt in for the finishing blow, the WF Lieutenant rolled backwards, and dodged her attack. "C'mere princess!" He growled as he grabbed her face, and brutally slammed her to the ground.

"Weiss!" Gwen shouted in fear for her friend. The Lieutenant picked her up and threw her up into the air, as he readied his chainsaw. But before he could do so, he was attacked by Gwen's ice elemental knight. "Stay away from her!" She shouted, with a venomous tone. She was angry for the giant brute's assault on Weiss, as she commanded her familiar to slash towards the Faunus. The Lieutenant continued to dodge all of its attacks, before managing to lay his weapon into it. However, that caused the ice elemental to explode, completely encasing him in ice.

After exhausting a percentage of her Aura for that desperation attack, Gwen ran over to the unconscious Weiss, and tries to awaken her. "Come on, Weiss. Please get up!"

"Ngh… my head…" Weiss wakes up, clutching her head. "Gwen?"

"Weiss! Thanks goodness you're okay!" The two girls hugged, as Gwen helped the heiress up. "The Lieutenant's going to break free soon! We need to escape now!" As Weiss nodded in agreement, the two exited out of their cabin.

Meanwhile, in the third cabin, Blake and Ryu were having an easier time against Torchwick, especially since the Dusts rounds that Weiss gave to Blake before really came in handy, as she combined them with her semblance to utilize her shadow clones with elemental powers. Blake created a fire clone which exploded once Roman made contact with it, shooting him into the air. Once he was airborne, Ryu leaps up and delivers some swift slashes back and forth.

After Roman fires a flare shot towards them, Blake creates an earth shadow clone, which takes the hit. Afterwards, Ryu fires a strong wind wave from his Yahto Blade, but Torchwick avoids it and tries to fight back. He tried to slam his weapon against Blake, but she managed to trap his weapon by creating an ice shadow clone. Finally, Ryu traps Torchwick in a tornado, while Blake performs a vertical slash towards him, knocking his weapon out of his hand, and pinning him to the ground. Torchwick tries to convice Blake to join him, but Blake unsurprisingly declines and knocks him unconscious, allowing the two of them to escape.

As for the battle on top of the train, Professor (Doctor) Oobleck had transformed his thermos into a flamethrower/club, and as Zwei curled up into a ball, he batted the dog towards the giant robots as a flaming projectile, knocking the first paladin off. Meanwhile, Ruby and Neos quickly slashed the second paladin apart. Then, Neos jumped onto the third paladin while charging up his Claws of Mjolnir, and short-circuited the robotic minion. Once it was out of commission, Neos leapt out of the way while Ruby fired several powerful shots from Crescent Rose alongside the professor, knocking it off the train as well. After dealing with them, Oobleck orders Ruby and Neos to run ahead, while the professor and Zwei deal with the rest.

After all eight students join up with each other, they see that the train is about to crash into a heavy duty wall. With no way to slow the train down, Weiss and Gwen combine their powers to form a giant ice shield around their teammates, as they brace for impact. Once the train crashes into the wall, a giant explosion tears open a giant hole, releasing a massive horde of Grimm, including a humongous King Taijitu. Teams RWBY and DRGN, plus Oobleck and Zwei awaken outside the subway, as they look in horror from the situation in front of them.

"This is bad!" Ryu stated. "I've never seen such a large amount of Grimm before."

"True." Damien nodded. "We're definitely going to need some back-up. Ruby, try and contact Team JNPR again!"

"Okay!" Ruby answered, as she dialed Jaune's scroll again.

"Hello?" Jaune drowsily replied.

"Jaune, it's terrible! Grimm are invading the city! We need your help!" Ruby explained, but she couldn't hear back from him. "Hello? HELLO!?" She saw the signal was too low, and her scroll had dropped the call. "No…"

"Don't worry. I'm sure Jaune must have heard you." Neos assured her. "Right now, we've got bigger problems!"

"Yeah. Like those invading Grimm!" Yang pointed out, as they saw the terrified civilians running for their lives. "Well, this is what we trained for!" She said with a determined face, as she readied Ember Celica.

"I'll be damned if I'm gonna let these creatures destroy the city!" Damien readied his Twin Dragon Fangs.

All the other huntsmen and huntresses readied themselves as they were prepared for the battle of their young lives. Damien, Yang, and Neos managed to take down a huge horde of beowolves, as well as combining their strength to overpower a giant Death Stalker. Ruby saw a Nevermore circling above her, but Neos shot it down by conjuring a large thunderbolt above it, allowing her to slice it in half with Crescent Rose. Weiss and Gwen saw a pair of Ursa about to lunge at them, but they quickly froze them, while Blake and Ryu slashed at them, completely destroying them.

As the battle digressed, everyone continued to battle, and slay the Grimm approaching, until they were confronted by the King Taijitu. However, before the twin serpent creature could attack, Nora fell straight from the sky, and bashed the giant creature with Magnhild, completely decimating it. The eight were happy to be reunited with Team JNPR.

"Hey! Perfect Timing!" Neos smirked as the other three caught up with her. "Now that you're here, this should be a snap!"

Jaune nodded as he searched for an opponent, only to be greeted by a giant Ursa behind him. However, he didn't back down, as he was able to stand his ground, and decapitate the Grimm beast.

Damien and Pyrrha smiled as his skills had definitely improved. "Well now, looks like your training really paid off. Not bad!" Damien complimented the humbled gladiator.

Soon after, they were joined up Sun and Neptune, as well as the Atlesian army led by General Ironwood, and eventually Professors Port and Goodwitch, and Team CFVY. Fox Alistair unleashed a deadly combo of attacks on a nearby Ursa, causing it to inflate and explode, sending spikes flying all around, while Yatsuhashi shielded Velvet from the barrage.

Coco walked towards Fox and patted him on the butt for a job-well-done, while approaching a large Beowolf. The creature roared at the fashionista, but she was clearly unamused, as she lowered her shades, and glared. "You just destroyed my favourite clothing store. Prepare to die." She stated, while transforming her handbag into a massive machine gun.

"Yikes. Note to self, do not mess with her clothing." Damien muttered to himself, while he saw Coco slaughtering the horde nearby her.

The battle easily turned towards the favour, as everyone disposed of all the remaining Grimm. However, as things were wrapping up, Damien looked towards the corner and saw Torchwick grinning evilly as he started to walk away.

"Hey, look over there!" Damien called towards his friends as he pointed towards Torchwick walking towards the fountain.

"Torchwick? What's he up to?" Ruby asked, as she glared towards the crime lord.

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out! He's not getting away!" Damien motioned, as Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN ran after him.

After Torchwick reached the fountain in the centre of the city, he saw all twelve student surrounding him. "Oh dear, it looks like you've caught me red-handed!" He said sarcastically, as he put his hands up. As he looked upwards, he saw five helicopters above him. He grinned as he whipped out his cane gun, and shot a flare above.

"Oh crap. Everybody get back!" Damien shouted, as the teams backed off. The helicopters opened their cargo doors, as a giant Ursa Major, Nevermore, Boarbatusk, Death Stalker, and King Taijitu dropped in front of them. Everyone prepared for the attack, but what happened next is what no one was ever expecting.

Roman reached into his coat, and pulled out a remote-control detonator, as everyone looked on, surprised at what he was planning. With an evil grin, he pressed the detonator, as the five different Grimm exploded into dark matter. As Torchwick quickly ran away, the three teams looked on in horror as the million bits of dark matter combined together into a giant pile, as a blast of purple light shined from the mass. After the light died down, everyone was too shocked to say anything about what they saw.

Weiss, Gwen, and Pyrrha put their hands over their mouths in terror. Ryu, Ren, and Neos all clenched their fists as they watched, with a concerned look. Blake, Yang, Jaune, and Nora looked on, mouths agape. Ruby and Damien tried to stay strong, but even they were at a loss for words, as they were scared of the impending disaster.

"No…. This can't be!" Damien shouted.

"W-What's happening?!" Ruby screamed, eyes filled with terror.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's bad! IT'S VERY BAD!" That was all Damien could answer.

Meanwhile, in the city, everyone else looked towards the fountain and saw what was going on. General Ironwood, the professors, and the other students were shocked from the results. Even Ozpin, who was watching the events unfold from his monitor, was speechless.

Standing in front of Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN, was a titanic Grimm-like abomination, bigger than anything that they have faced up until now. This Grimm was a fusion from all five Grimm creatures; it had the body and head of the Ursa Major, the heads and necks of the King Taijitu extending from its shoulders, the wings from the Nevermore on its back, the scorpion tail and stinger from the Death Stalker, and the face and tusks from the Boarbatusk sticking out from his stomach. The Grimm abomination unleashed a giant roar, which shook the entire ground around it, as everyone tried to stay their ground and struggled being pushed back. Yang did mention before that they were training for this, but none of them were prepared for what lurked ahead!

* * *

 **There you go, that's the huge twist. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN face off against a huge Fusion-Like Grimm; which I will hereby classify as "Grimmzodia!" (Formerly Grimmzilla, but Grimmzodia sounds far better). By the way, as I pointed out several chapters ago, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald will not be appearing in this story. Anyways, tune in next time for the exciting conclusion.**


	22. Chapter 22: The Fate of the World

**Hello everyone, welcome to the next chapter of my OC Story. It's time to witness the ultimate battle between the three teams and the Grimmzodia. Also, you will see Damien's semblance at full power (the third and final stage).**

* * *

"Okay, I've seen a lot of Grimm before, but that behemoth definitely takes the cake!" Yang shouted.

"And it probably ate it too!" Damien added.

After staring at the titanic Grimmzodia marching, leaving its giant footprints in the ground, destroying the buildings in front of it, Neos remarked, crossing his arms. "Well, this is a fine mess! How the hell are we supposed to kill that thing?!"

"We can't!" Ryu sternly answered, as everyone turned to face him.

"What do you mean we can't?!" Jaune asked, dumbfounded.

"He's right. Look at the size of that thing! There's nothing we can do!" Ren replied. "We need to get out of here, NOW!"

"But, what's to become of the town?" Gwen asked.

"What's to become of all the Kingdoms?!" Weiss demanded. "Once that thing's done rampaging, it's sure to reach Atlas, Vacuo, and Mistral!"

"Exactly. We need to hurry and warn the other kingdoms as soon as possible!" Pyrrha stated, as everyone was about to dash to where everyone else was.

"No!" Everyone turned around, to see Ruby still standing there, wielding Crescent Rose.

"W-W-What do you mean 'no?!'" Blake shouted, worried about Ruby's impulsiveness.

"Yeah Ruby! I know you like being a hero, but now is not the time for this!" Yang scolded her, eyes turning red for a spilt second.

"I don't care! Don't you people realize that the whole world is counting on us?! We cannot let this creature roam free! One way or another, I am stopping this thing, RIGHT HERE AND NOW!" Ruby screamed back.

After everyone stared shocked, another voice rose up. "She's right! Everyone's counting on us! There's no way that I am letting this beast loose! I'm with you, Ruby!" Damien shouted as he walked beside her.

"You guys are crazy, but hey, you only live once! I'm in too!" Neos walked up.

"Mom would be so proud of you. I'm with you too!" Yang stated.

"Of all the foolish things you've done, this is the worst! But, I guess I can't be surprised. I'm in." Weiss stated.

"It's not really my thing, but what the heck? Count me in!" Jaune shrugged.

"I won't run away from this, I'm in!" Blake stated.

"If this is our destiny, then so be it." Pyrrha nodded.

"Ugh, fine. I guess I'll join!" Ren rolled his eyes.

"If Ren's in, then so am I! We're gonna be heroes!" Nora cheered.

"I-I'll do my best!" Gwen stammered, before putting on a brave face.

"Let's do this!" Ryu stated, as all twelve students stood united against the Grimmzodia. "But first, we need to evacuate this town. We can't jeopardize anyone else's lives!"

"He's right, Ruby. We need to tell General Ironwood about this!" Damien stated towards her.

"Got it!" Ruby pulled out her scroll, and called Sun Wukong.

"Ruby?! I'm so glad you're okay! Where are you guys?" Sun shouted as everyone was aboard the giant airship.

"Never mind that, Sun. I need to talk to General Ironwood!" Ruby asked.

Sun complied and gave his scroll to the general. "Ironwood speaking. What's the situation? Are you children alright?!"

"We're fine general, but we need to stop that gigantic abomination! Can you evacuate the town?" Ruby asked.

"My men are already working on the evacuation as we speak! I suggest you all do the same!" Ironwood ordered, before being greeted by an awkward pause.

"Actually… we decided to stay here to battle the Grimm ourselves…" Ruby sheepishly answered.

Professor Goodwitch, who was standing beside General Ironwood, shouted into his scroll. "Are you out of your mind, young lady?! You need to hurry back to safety THIS INSTANT!"

"GLYNDA PLEASE!" Ironwood reprimanded her, as they both regained their composure. "She's right, this is no place for children! Fall back, that's an order!"

"But what will happen once that thing makes its way to the other kingdoms?" Ruby wondered.

"I can assure you, the other kingdoms' armies will stand together to take on this colossal threat, but in the meantime, you need to get to safety, NOW!" Ironwood demanded.

"Please General Ironwood, give us just one chance. We can stop this beast together. I know we can!" Damien pleaded.

General Ironwood was about to order his men to round up the twelve students, but Ozpin's voice was heard over the line. "Let them do it!"

"O-Ozpin!?" Ironwood and Goodwitch were shocked to hear him.

"Are you crazy? Do you seriously think these children are capable of handling such a thing?!" Ironwood shouted at the headmaster.

"Professor, I implore you to reconsider!" Glynda begged.

"These twelve students in particular are more than capable of defeating the creatures, I know they are. They have accomplished things no mere Huntsmen or Huntresses have done in their age. Therefore, I say, let these children battle the Grimm beast!" Ozpin finished.

After a moment of silence, Ironwood decided to let them fight the Grimmzodia. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN all cheered as they were ready to battle the beast. "While we evacuate the town, you need to lead that beast far away from here as possible! I'll send you the coordinates to where you should go!"

"Got it!" Ruby answered, once she received them. After Ruby hung up, Ironwood grimly spoke to Ozpin. "I hope for your sake, that you are right about them, Ozpin!"

"Don't worry, I'm positive." Ozpin watched his monitor, as he took a sip from his coffee mug. "After all, that crimson haired boy has a strong power, unlike anything I have ever seen. He is our biggest hope against that beast!"

After turning back towards the Grimmzodia, they needed to figure out what to do once they got it out of the city. "Okay everyone, we need to unleash a large barrage attack against the beast!" Damien stated. "Once we lead in to the field, we all open fire against it!"

"But how are we going to lead it out of here?" Weiss questioned.

"It looks like someone is going to have to distract the beast, while everyone waits to attack." Ryu stated.

"But who's going to risk their life to do so?" Ren wondered.

"I'll do it!" Everyone turned, and faced Jaune, who volunteered to serve as bait.

"J-Jaune?!" Pyrrha faced him, worried about her leader.

"Think about it! Everyone has ranged weapons, so it makes sense that all of you prepare yourselves to fire! I'll lure the beast, and once it reaches the wastelands, you unleash everything you got!" Jaune stated.

After a moment of thought, everyone agreed to Jaune's proposal. "All right, here are the coordinates!" Ruby texted the coordinates to Jaune's scroll. "We'll be waiting for you!"

Everyone dashed to their location, while Pyrrha ran back up to Jaune, and put her hand on his face. "Please be careful, Jaune." She whispered to him, her eyes watering up slightly.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha. I won't leave you. Not now, and not ever!" Jaune smiled and assured her, putting his hand on her cheek, as they leaned closer for a passionate kiss. After they finished, Pyrrha ran to join up with everyone else, while Jaune faced the mighty beast who was rampaging.

Jaune walked over, and picked up a brick from a destroyed tower. "Well, here goes nothing." He threw it at the Grimmzodia, causing it to face the blonde knight. "Hey, over there, you oversized freak!" Jaune taunted it, while making his way to everyone else, with the titanic Grimm going after him.

Meanwhile, in the barren wastelands, everyone was standing guard on a few cliffs, their weapons ready in its ranged form. Once they saw Jaune leading the Grimmzodia behind him, everyone fired everything at the beast at close enough range, pushing the humongous beast backwards, as it shrieked in pain.

"ATTACK!" Damien commanded as all twelve students charged towards the beast. Ruby, Blake, Ren, and, Ryu all made some swift slashes towards the beast's legs. Weiss and Gwen froze its arms which prevented any counterattack. Jaune and Pyrrha blocked their friends from the spikes that the beast shot from its body. Finally, Damien, Yang, Neos, and Nora all flew towards the beast's head, and attacked with as power as they could muster.

Once the Grimmzodia recoiled, everyone surrounded the beast as they were prepared to open fire, except Jaune who had no ranged weapon. "Hey, what about me?" Jaune whined.

"Here, try these!" Neos said, while reaching into his pockets, and tossing him a pair of revolvers.

"Whoa, where'd you get these?" Jaune wondered.

"I... borrowed them from one of the Atlesian soldiers." The ex-rogue lied.

"You what?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I'll give them back! Right now, can we focus on whatever the hell that thing is?!" Neos reminded the heiress, before turning their attention back to the behemoth.

Everyone prepared to barrage the Grimmzodia, but it withstood the onslaught. It started to flash brightly as it healed itself all attacks that it had taken from before. Then, it started to grow, increasing its already massive size, and unleashing a mighty roar, which scared everybody as the beast was already a huge pain to begin with. After it flew into the sky, with its Nevermore wings flapping, the Grimmzodia slammed into the ground; its heavy mass creating a huge shockwave, knocking everybody backwards, and onto the ground.

After everyone laid on the ground, they all barely got back up, as they stood, panting from that attack, "W-What in the world was that?!" Damien demanded.

"How… the hell… should I know?!" Neos gritted.

"One more attack like that… and it's all over…" Nora grimly stated.

"N-no. I won't let it end like this!" Ruby gritted.

"Right. Then let's give it everything we got!" Damien punched his fists together, as they were engulfed in flames, as well as his feet.

Yang's eye glowed red, as her hair caught fire. "We can do this!"

"Damn right!" Neos channeled electricity into his claws, as he increased his strength, while giving some additional power to Nora as well.

Everyone tried their best to fight against the Grimmzodia, but it proved to be much harder than before. The King Taijitu heads shot out a highly toxic ooze, which collided with some nearby rocks, instantly dissolving it. "Y-Yikes!" Jaune squeaked, as his hiding spot was exposed.

Pyrrha, Ren, Blake, and Ryu all tried to slash the beast's feet, but with one massive stomp, it knocked them all back. Weiss and Gwen combined their powers to create the same giant ice shield from the subway earlier, but one flap from its wings caused several big sharp feathers to shoot out, instantly breaking their defences, and badly injuring the two girls. Neos and Ruby both dashed towards the beast while holding each other back-to-back, using a combination of Ruby's speed, and Neos' lightning drill attack at the beast's stomach. However, the Boarbatusk's face shot out a powerful beam, pushing the two away. Damien, Yang, and Nora all leapt behind the Grimmzodia's back to attack, but it swung its Death Stalker's tail, causing them to careen into the wall.

As everyone struggled to get back up, the Grimmzodia's body started to glow, as it unleashed a stream of powerful dark-red rays that rained from the dark sky, severely draining everybody's aura and absorbing it with its head glowing as it stored the power, until no one had the strength to fight. However, Yang tried to fire a single shot from Ember Celica, causing the beast to turn and face the angered, but weary brawler. The beast slammed its hand into Yang, as Yang's semblance kicked in while she tried to hold it back. Unfortunately, the beast was overmatched for her, as it launched Yang into the wall.

"YANG!" Ruby cried towards her sister, tears forming up. As Yang tried to get into a fighting stance, she struggled as her strength had slowly disappeared. The beast was prepared to finish her off by charging a death beam from its mouth.

"NOOOOO!" Before Yang could defend herself, Damien mustered whatever strength he had and dashed towards her, pushing her out of the way, before he faced the Grimmzodia, as he tried to shield himself from the blast. But the attack was way too powerful, as Damien was engulfed by the death beam, as he screamed in pain.

"DAMIEN!" Yang screamed, as she saw him being obliterated, right before her now lilac eyes.

After taking the attack, Damien's entire body was emitting smoke, as he stood there, unable to move. Before he could react, the King Taijitu heads lunged towards the crimson haired lad, as they made impact with him, causing an explosion, and surrounding the area in a thick dust cloud.

"DAMIEEEEEEEN!" Everyone shouted as they ran to where he was, praying that he was all right. They couldn't see anything through the dust, but the only thing that came out was Damien's leather jacket. Yang caught the jacket, and her knees sank to the ground, her eyes bursting into tears. Ruby tried to console her sister, but she fell to the ground, crying heavily as well while hugging Yang's body. Everyone hung their heads in grief and sorrow, as they mourned the loss of their friend.

"It-It's all my fault…" Yang sobbed.

"Yang…" Neos muttered.

"It is my fault! If I didn't try to face that creature head-on, Damien would still be alive!" Yang continued to weep.

"Yang!" Neos said once again, trying to snap her out of her funk, but to no avail.

"A-And now, because of my carelessness, Damien is… is…" Yang wailed.

"YANG!" Neos shouted, snapping Yang out of her depression, as everyone faced him. "It's not over yet! Look!" He pointed to the dust cloud, as they all saw a crimson glow.

"Damien!" Yang and Ruby shouted in surprise, as everyone was shocked to see Damien was still alive.

Damien held the Twin King Taijitu heads from its mouth, preventing them from devouring him. After blocking them, Damien ripped the long serpent necks from the Grimmzodia's shoulders, causing the beast to shriek in pain, as a ray of light leaked from its shoulder wounds, giving everyone a percentage of their aura back. Damien's semblance had reached maximum power, as his entire body erupted in flames, causing a flaming dragon silhouette to roar behind him, while emitting a crimson glow.

Everyone was stunned, as Damien dashed towards the Grimmzodia, and delivered a heavy barrage of super-powered flame punches, kicks, and double fireball explosions, before giving an axe-kick against his head, leaving a big crack on its skull, and causing it to shrink a little. After finishing his attack, Damien turned around to face everyone, with his eyes glowing red.

"D-Damien?" Ruby asked, worried about him. Damien said nothing, as he slowly walked to his friends, his body surrounded by fire. After everyone got up, they got into a fighting stance, preparing for the worst.

"Wait!" Neos shouted. "It's okay! He's still in control, right?" He smirked towards him.

After a moment of silence, Damien smirked back, nodding, much to everyone's relief and joy. "Come on everybody! The real battle has only begun! It's time to end this, RIGHT HERE AND NOW!" He ordered as he shot a huge stream of fire from Twin Dragon Fangs, made even stronger due to his semblance.

While it focused Damien, everyone open-fired again, causing the beast to shriek, but it brushed it off, while still holding its head in pain.

"Yikes! It's still strong! What do we do now?" Jaune panicked.

Ruby was thinking while noticing that the wounds from its shoulders were leaking energy, before coming up with a grand plan. "Look at the wounds from where the King Taijitu heads used to be. When Damien ripped them off, they gave us back some of our aura." Everyone faced it, and came to the same conclusion.

"Of course! If we tear off the other parts, we'll be strong enough to destroy it!" Weiss commended her leader.

"All right, so we gotta aim for the Death Stalker Tail, the Boarbatusk Tusks, and the Nevermore Wings." Neos pointed out. "Should be simple enough."

"Yes, but how will we finish it off?" Pyrrha wondered.

Ryu noticed the giant crack on its head. "Look at the head where Damien attacked it. That's its weak spot!"

"Bingo!" Everyone turned to face Damien. "Once we tear off everything else, I'll deliver the finishing blow! First, we need to regain our aura back! Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, let's do this!"

The Grimmzodia fired a death beam from its stomach, but Neos performed his spinning drill technique, while dashing through one of Weiss' ice glyphs. While the ex-rogue was spinning, the glyph had also covered him in ice, shielding himself from the beam, as the ice drill rammed into the beast's stomach. The impact was so powerful, that it knocked the tusks straight off. Yang and Pyrrha picked up each tusk, and stabbed the Boarbatusk face, completely rendering it useless. The Grimmzodia shrieked again, as more aura returned to the students, while it shrunk a little.

While it barely had any time to recover. Nora slammed her hammer onto its Death Stalker tail, pinning it to the ground. Jaune quickly moved and swung his sword, slicing off its scorpion tail, regaining more of their stolen aura. As the Grimmzodia turned to the two, Gwen shot a blizzard of ice towards the Nevermore Wings, completely freezing it. Blake, Ren, and Ryu all dashed and shattered the wings, causing it to screech once again. Everyone regained the rest of their power, as the Grimmzodia shrunk back to its original size.

Blake fired Gambol Shroud, as Ren and Ryu dashed from each side, tying its left arm in place with the ribbon, while Neos, Yang, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Ryu all held it tightly to prevent any escape. Meanwhile, Gwen summoned her elemental knight who was the same size as the Grimmzodia, as it held its other arm in place. Weiss created a giant ice glyph around the Grimmzodia's feet, freezing its legs in place.

Once the beast was in place, Ruby hopped onto Damien's shoulders while pointing Crescent Rose behind them, while Damien aimed his Twin Dragon Fangs behind him too. Weiss created a series of glyphs vertically lining up the beast's body, similar to their strategy at the Beacon Initiation Test. Once everything was ready, the two dashed towards the beast, firing their weapons for super speed, as they raced up the Grimmzodia's body.

Once they were over its body, Weiss focused on her ice glyph, continuing to immobilize the Grimmzodia. Once Damien and Ruby were out of the clouds, Ruby fired one last shot from her weapon, launching Damien towards the beast, while Ruby fell off from the sky.

"Ruby!" Yang screamed at her falling sister.

"Don't worry, I'll catch her! You focus on keeping that beast in place." Neos assured her, to which she immediately nodded, before moving up. After making a mad dash to the cliff, the ex-rogue leapt off from the rocky walls and caught Ruby. The two of landed safely with Neos still holding Ruby in his arms. Damien soared downwards, enveloped in a bright crimson light, as he charged up his fist, for one mega-flame punch. Damien was descending at an extremely high speed, until he made contact with its head. The Grimmzodia gave a bright flash, as it started to explode.

Everyone immediately ran for cover, as Weiss and Gwen created the ice shield technique again, protecting everyone from the blast. Everyone on board Ironwood's helicopter stood shocked at what had happened.

After the dust settled, the only thing they saw was Damien lying on the ground, completely unconscious and not showing any signs of moving. "Damien!" Yang screamed, as she and everyone dashed towards him, hoping that he would be all right. "C'mon, please wake up..."

As Damien weakly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Yang's beautiful face, with her eyes slightly tearing up. "Nailed it…" He grinned.

"Damien!" Yang hugged him tightly, as he hugged back. Everyone was overjoyed to see that he was just fine.

After regaining her composure, Yang quickly punched him in his arm. "OW! What was that for?!"

"That's for almost getting yourself killed!" Yang glared, before smiling and pulling him towards her. "And this is for saving me…" She pulled him closer, as the two locked lips in the most passionate kiss of their lives.

After Yang and Neos helped Damien up, the twelve made their way back to the city, where everyone, including their fellow students and professors applauded them for their heroism and bravery. General Ironwood stepped up and commended them all for saving Vale, as well as all of Remnant. Even Ozpin, who saw everything from his monitor, smiled proudly at his students.

General Ironwood was able to apprehend Roman Torchwick, and bring him for questioning, Glynda Goodwitch used her telekinetic powers to seal the hole, and as the sun started to set, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN, as well as Zwei, were sitting at the landing platforms, watching Vale from a view.

"Oh man, what a day this was." Nora sighed, lying down on her back.

"I know right? I never thought we'd actually be able to take down a colossal Grimm like that!" Jaune blurted.

"But in the end, we all did it, together." Pyrrha smiled, resting her head on Jaune's shoulder.

"If we don't get any extra credit for all of this, I'll be very disappointed." Weiss pouted.

"Weiss, a two-headed snake crushed a bakery. I highly doubt that." Ryu smirked, shaking his head.

"That's a shame. That would have been real nice." Neos sighed, lounging on the ground, hands on the back of his head.

"Besides, I mean, we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this?" Ruby pondered.

"Don't sweat it, Rubes. Someday, we'll know…" Neos reassured his girlfriend, while sitting up to bring her closer to him, so which she happily leaned towards him.

"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending." Blake stated, before giving a smile. "We might not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that's something we could be proud of."

"Exactly. And, if any other threat shows up, we'll all take it on… As one." Gwen added.

Yang half-heartedly cheered before lying down, with Zwei imitating her. "Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, alright, good job... So, what now?"

Damien chuckled before lying down next to his girlfriend. "I don't know about you, but I am exhausted!" He stated while holding her hand.

"So, time for bed?" Ruby asked.

"Yes!" The two brawlers nodded.

"Aw come on. It's not even that dark yet!" Neos pouted. "Besides, I'm starving!" Ruby giggled, before her stomach started to growl. "Come on everyone, dinner's on me!" He grinned while pulling out a credit card.

"Hey, that's mine!" Weiss grabbed her card back, while glaring at the nonchalant ex-rogue.

After everyone laughed for a few seconds, Ruby stated. "Well, food does sound pretty good."

"Hate to disappoint you, but I think all the restaurants are closed." Damien smirked towards her.

"No worries guys, Ren can cook us all a five-star pancake meal!" Nora cheered.

Ren's eyes widened when he heard that. "On second thought, rest sounds much better right now."

All twelve students laughed for what felt like several minutes, before Damien leaned over to Yang, giving her a kiss on the cheek, before sitting up. "Ah no worries Neos. I know a guy, who runs a top-notch restaurant. He'll make us anything we want."

Blake jumped and stared into him, eyes sparkling. "Anything?! Y-you mean…"

Damien nodded as he knew what the cat Faunus had in mind. "Yup, I can call him right now, and arrange us twelve spots. Sound good?" Everyone nodded as they all walked towards the restaurant, with Damien dialing his scroll on the way.

After a long, tough battle, the students of Beacon had prevailed against the Grimm army. With the Vytal Tournament Festival approaching, they were all confident in their skills. The bonds that the three teams all have with each other grew stronger and stronger. And in the end, nothing would ever break the ties between the twelve students.

* * *

 **And there you have it, this concludes the Volume 2 arc. I was going to make this the final chapter, but I am not ending this story just yet. I think I'll make some more of my own chapters here, just nothing from Volume 3, since I want to keep this light. If I do anything from Volume 3, maybe I'll continue this on a different story. Until then, I thank everyone who followed and read my story, and I will see you next time. Peace out!**


	23. Chapter 23: Meeting the Parents

**Hello everybody, I told you I wasn't quite finished with this story. Now that the Volume 2 Arc is complete, it's time for some more wacky adventures. In this episode, I was trying to make this all about a double date between Ruby and Neos & Damien and Yang, but then I turned it into a scenario where 'boyfriend meets girlfriend's parents' (pretty fun, right). Anywho, this means that everyone's favourite father makes an appearance, Mr. Taiyang Xiao Long! This should be fun!**

* * *

After the huge battle that took place in the city, all academies decided to cancel classes, giving all the students a much-needed day off. Some students decided to use this time to relax, while others decided to prepare for the Vytal Festival Tournament.

As for Damien and Neos, they were busy preparing for their double date with Yang and Ruby. The four of them have been planning to do this for quite a while, and now that they had the entire day off, today was the perfect opportunity for it. Even though Ruby, Yang, Damien, and Neos were going out into the city, Weiss, Blake, Gwen, and Ryu would be spending the day with Team JNPR.

As Damien and Neos waited outside the dorm, standing beside the campus statue, they eventually saw Ruby and Yang coming towards them. "Ladies…" Neos winked towards them, causing Ruby to giggle, while Yang smiled and rolled her eyes. "Didn't think you were gonna show up."

"Are you kidding? We wouldn't miss this for the world!" Ruby pouted while playfully shoving Neos.

"Hey there, gorgeous. Looking good." Damien smirked.

"Thanks, big boy. You're not too bad yourself." Yang smirked back, while punching his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. I got you something!" Neos reached into his pocket and pulled out some more homemade cookies for Ruby. "This time I am positive you'll like it!"

Ruby took the cookies, and after a moment of hesitation, popped one in her mouth. "Wow, this is really good!" She squealed, her eyes sparkling.

"Let me guess, did Ren help you this time?" Yang chuckled, while Neos nodded.

"Ooh, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Ruby hugged Neos tightly, while he kissed her forehead.

Damien laughed while rubbing his shoulder. "So, are you girls ready for this?"

"You betcha!" Yang cheered, as the four of them heading off campus. The first place that they decided to go would be to a weapons store, since Ruby was always a geek when it came to that sort of thing.

Then, they went to the arcade, despite the building being completely crowded. When they approached the Dance Dance Revolution arcade game, they heard a familiar tune.

"Hey, isn't that the same song we heard from the Beacon Dance?" Damien wondered, tapping his foot.

"Oh yeah!" Yang exclaimed, as her hips started to shake to the beat. "Say, you wanna recreate that exact moment right now?"

"Sure, I'm game!" Damien grinned as they got up on the machine.

"They sure are enjoying themselves." Ruby said.

"Well then, how about we join in on the fun?" Neos smiled, while extending out his hand to Ruby, as they joined in.

The four of them managed to perform the exact same dance that Team JNPR performed on that day, minus Jaune in a dress. After they finished, everyone cheered for them as they made their way to the park.

The afternoon sun came, as Ruby, Yang, Damien, and Neos sat on a nearby bench, while enjoying some ice cream.

"Oh man, that was a blast!" Damien exclaimed, still feeling the joy from the dance.

"I know, I can't believe they played the exact same song!" Yang cheered. "I didn't know you were such a dancer."

"What, that? Nah, I'm nowhere near as good as you." Damien smirked, while the two of them kissed.

"Man, half the day hasn't even passed, and it feels like we've been through so much." Ruby said.

"Well, time flies when you're having so much fun." Neos grinned while wrapping his arm around the red-head. The double date was going so well, as they continued to enjoy the day away.

During that time, they saw a little girl crying because her kite got stuck in a tree. She ran towards the four teens. "Excuse me, can you help me my kite?"

Neos smiled. "Well sure thing." The spiky haired blonde climbed the tree and retrieved the kite. "There you go!"

Damien patted the little girl, and gave her some Lien. "Here, if you want to buy some ice cream, go right ahead."

"Yay! Thank you!" The little girl cheered, as she ran to the ice cream truck. Ruby's and Yang's hearts were melted when they saw the kindness of their boyfriends. They immediately dashed towards them and embraced them. Damien and Neos smiled, as they hugged back. Nothing could ruin this moment. However, Yang gets a text message causing her to fidget uncontrollably.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!" Yang squealed, while everyone raised an eyebrow.

"Geez, what are you so giddy about?" Neos wondered.

"No time to explain! C'mon!" Yang motioned, as everyone followed her. Eventually, they reached the docks as they were out of breath.

"Okay Yang, now do you wanna tell us why you're so pumped up?" Neos asked, as he, Ruby, and Damien were out of breath.

After some thought, Yang decided to spill the beans. "I was going to keep it a surprise, but what the hell! I just got a text from our Dad, as he said he's coming here today!" Yang cheered.

Everyone else was shocked, with Ruby having a feeling of joy, while Damien and Neos had a mix of surprise and fear. "OOOH, Daddy's coming here? Today?!" Ruby shrieked.

"Wait a minute, isn't your Dad the renowned Huntsman, and Signal professor, Taiyang Xaio Long?!" Damien exclaimed.

"Yep, the very same!" Yang nodded. "We told him that we're dating you guys, and he says he wants to meet you guys!"

"W-what?!" Neos shrieked in fear. "Does he know about my… past?"

"Yeah, but don't sweat it. He knows you're cool, and he totally has no problems with your history." Yang reassured the ex-rogue, who gulped in fear.

"Don't worry, our dad's a really nice guy. I know he'll like you." Ruby hugged him.

"I hope so." He exhaled deeply. The speedboat swiftly approached the docks, as a tall blonde man leaped out and landed in front of them.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! How're my favourite girls doing?" Taiyang held out his arms, as Ruby and Yang embraced their father.

"Ooh Daddy! It's so good to see you again!" Ruby squealed.

"I can't believe you here!" Yang exclaimed.

Taiyang chuckled as he tussled his daughters' hairs. "Well, I heard you two got a couple of boyfriends, and I thought it would be a good idea to meet them." He folded his arms, while smirking towards the two boys. "So, I take it those are them?"

Damien dragged his friend towards the happy family. "You… You're… Taiyang Xiao Long!" The crimson haired lad exclaimed.

"*Gulp* I-it's really nice to meet you!" Neos swallowed, fearful of what may happen.

Taiyang laughed while patting their shoulders. "Relax boys! Ruby and Yang told me a lot about you, from the letters they sent me. You two are a couple of nice guys, always taking great care of them. For that, I deeply thank you!"

Damien bowed towards the mighty fighter. "Thank you, Mr. Xiao Long. It is an absolute honor."

"Now, now. No need for formalities. Just call me, Taiyang." The man said.

"Sure thing, Taiyang." Neos replied, feeling a bit at ease. "So, what's the plan?"

Taiyang put his hands on his hips. "Well, I thought we could all have dinner at my home all the way in Patch. Y'know, the same place where my girls grew up."

Ruby squealed. "Oh, it's been so long since I saw home!" After the five of them got aboard the motorboat, the driver slammed the gas pedal, as he took off at high speed.

After arriving in Patch, the five dismounted as the driver waved them farewell. "So, this is the house you guys grew up in." Damien said.

"Yup, that's our home." Yang nodded. "I can't remember the last time I saw this place."

"Well, come on kids. I'll go start dinner." Taiyang motioned as he and his daughters headed into the house.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Neos muttered. "Do you think he brought us here just to kill us, so no one would hear our screams?"

"Shh, don't say that!" Damien shushed him. "Besides, things will be fine. I hope…" He stated, nervously.

After Taiyang finished making dinner, the five of them, including Zwei, sat down and ate some homemade spaghetti.

"Wow, this is some of the best spaghetti I've ever eaten!" Neos cheered, while chowing down.

"Isn't it? Dad is the greatest chef in Vale!" Ruby explained.

"Come now, it's nothing really. Just an old family recipe." Taiyang humbly said. "And how about you, Damien. What do you think?"

Damien was munching voraciously on it, until he noticed everyone starring at him, so he swallowed the noodles, and wiped the sauce off with his napkin. "Uh… It's really good." He sheepishly replied.

Yang laughed at her boyfriend's appetite. "Wow, I've never seen you devour something so fast!"

"Say, what's Uncle Qrow up to right now?" Ruby asked her father.

"Oh you know, he's busy on missions and whatnot. The usual." The Huntsman replied. "By the way boys, I told Qrow about you, and he cannot wait to meet the two of you." He laughed, as the two almost choked on their food.

"Oh… great. Can't wait." Neos weakly stated.

"Say, I've got an idea. Yang tells me you boys are pretty tough. So, how about we have a wrestling match, me against you two?" Taiyang stated, causing Ruby and Yang to cheer, while Damien and Neos swallowed in fear.

"Well… sure. I guess we could do that. Right Neos?" He stopped his friend from exiting, earning him a glare.

"Okay! I'll be waiting outside." Taiyang stretched his muscles as he went into the backyard.

"C'mon, maybe it won't be so bad." Damien reassured him.

"Well Damien, maybe you're right. I mean, it's the two of us against him, how strong can he be?" Neos wondered.

"Oh I don't know. There was that one time in Signal where Dad took on the entire Academy, and won." Yang pointed out. "And he didn't even break a sweat."

Neos and Damien started to break out in a sweat, but they decided to go through with it.

 **Twenty minutes later…**

"Ugh, my poor back…" Damien groaned as he and Neos got clobbered by the big man. "Now I see how tough he is."

"Tell me about it. We ended up looking like fools, in front of you girls." Neos whined, as they lounged in the living room.

"As if! Dad said that was the greatest match he ever had!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah! Not many people can stay in a match for that long! You boys are the best!" Yang added, as they hugged their boyfriends, who screamed out in pain.

"Not bad, boys. Now I can see why they like you." Taiyang entered, holding up an album. "Say girls, could you go ahead and feed Zwei? I wanna have a chat with your boyfriends." The girls dashed off, with them begging them to come back.

Neos and Damien looked scared as they were prepared for the worst, but Taiyang merely sat between them, as he opened up the family album. "Relax boys. I know I may seem like I'm trying to keep you away from my girls, but it's only because I care deeply for them. Besides, I don't mind them dating you, because after seeing you boys, I have no problems with them dating you."

After being caught off-guard, the two teens realized how foolish they have been. "Sorry about that, Tai." Neos apologized. "Is it all right if I call you that?"

Taiyang nodded, as he showed them a picture of a younger Ruby and Yang, standing with a woman who looked very similar to Ruby, only with a white hood. "That woman, she looks a lot like Ruby…" Damien pondered.

"That's right. That's Summer Rose; Ruby's biological mother, and second wife." He said, with a small smile.

"Second?" Neos asked, surprised.

"That's right. Yang told me that before her, there was another woman…" Damien explained.

"Correct. Her name was Raven Branwen, my first wife, and Yang's biological mother. She's also Qrow's sister." Taiyang filled him in, before showing them a picture of her, along with his old team, showing a younger Summer, Taiyang, Raven, and Qrow (Team STRQ). "A long time ago, I was married to Raven. I loved her very much, and afterwards, Yang was born. But then, without any reason, she abandoned us, and I was left to raise Yang by myself. To this day, I still don't even know her reason for leaving." He reminisced. "Two years later, I married Summer Rose, and thus, Ruby was born. Despite Raven leaving her, Yang still loved Summer dearly like she was her mother, and she loved both our children with all of her heart. Of course, one day, while she was busy on a mission, she… passed away." Tai said, with a small pause, as Damien and Neos stood listening inventively.

"I had no idea…" It was all Neos could say.

"It must have been so hard on you." Damien said deeply.

"It really was. I felt so broken, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't eat, sleep. During that time, since she passed away, I didn't want to lose my precious girls either." Taiyang nodded, before smiling towards the two. "But in time, I was able to move on, and helped them train to become Huntresses. That's why it makes me so happy to know that Ruby and Yang are in the hands of some of the most caring Huntsman around."

"You are too kind, sir." Damien bowed. "Yang is the greatest girl I have had the honour of meeting. As we fight together, I can feel the bond between us growing stronger and stronger. I know that we'll continue to stay that way."

"Same goes for me and Ruby!" Neos chimed in. "Even though I look like a thug, Ruby always saw the good in me, and as long as she's with me, I know I can make good on that.

"We promise you Taiyang, they made the world to us. And we will do whatever it takes to protect them!" Damien stated, standing up.

"We wouldn't be the way we are today, without them!" Neos added, standing beside him.

Taiyang looked at them proudly, as he got up and hugged them. "Thank you Damien and Neos! I know they will be fine; as long as they have you. I'm glad that Ruby and Yang met such wonderful, caring, and strong boys such as yourselves." Damien and Neos hugged back, as Tai patted their shoulders. As the bonding continued, the motorboat have arrived back, ready to pick them up. "Ah, look at that. Time really does pass by so fast. Come on boys, I'll walk you out."

As Taiyang exited the room, Ruby and Yang entered as they saw Damien and Neos standing there, with caring smiles on their faces.

"Hey there. So, how'd it go with Dad?" Yang asked, with a smile on her face.

"Oh, we just had a nice heart-to-heart talk." Damien shrugged.

"Ooh, I knew you'd like him!" Ruby jumped into Neos's arms.

"Well, what can I say, he's truly lucky to have such wonderful daughters." Neos smiled, as he and Ruby kissed.

"Yeah, and you're lucky to have such an amazing dad." Damien pulled Yang into an embrace, as they shared a kiss as well.

After the two couples got onto the speedboat, they all waved goodbye to Taiyang, as he waved back. Taiyang knew he wouldn't have to worry too much about Ruby and Yang; especially since they were with some of the kindest boys they have ever met.

* * *

 **Well there you go. I hope that wasn't too much fluff. Now let me discuss my thought process into this chapter. I don't exactly know too much about Taiyang's character on the show (besides the fact he was voiced by Burnie Burns), but from I've gathered, he seems like a genuinely caring father to both Ruby and Yang. I know Ruby does love him a lot, and while Yang does love him too, I feel like Yang has a little bit of doubt. Also, I remember back in the first season, Ruby commented that "Dad wouldn't approve of all of the boys," meaning this is how I think Taiyang would react if he were to actually any of his daughters' boyfriends, what with being overprotective. Finally, I don't exactly know what is Taiyang's fighting style, but it was mentioned that he did teach Yang how to fight, so I'm assuming he has the same technique as her, with his strength being even greater than his own daughter. All right, I think that wraps up my thesis on this chapter. Just a head's up, the next few chapters are going to be a doozy, with some more creations of my own coming up, so stay tuned!**


	24. Chapter 24: Lieutenant Ivan Stone

**Hello everyone. These next few chapters are going to be a doozy to read here. I have made more creations, including a few new species of Grimm that I thought of myself. I had so many other ideas for this plot here, but I scrapped them, since they were way too complicated. With that said, let the mayhem unfold.**

* * *

It was a typical Monday morning, as Professor Port continued rambling on, despite half of the class dozing off. "Now, I know you are all familiar with the various types of Grimm, but it may intrigue you to know that there've been two new species that were recently discovered!"

The entire class perked up and murmured to what he said. "New species of Grimm?" Damien whispered to his teammates, as Teams RWBY and JNPR were also conversing about the discovery.

Port grinned through his mustache, as he rolled up the projection screen, showing the pictures of the new Grimm creatures, as he first directed everyone's attention to the dark bipedal clawed creature, with retractable insect wings, and scythes on each arm. "First off, this here is the Hacksaw; a two-legged insect like Grimm creature capable of flight, who claws are sharp enough to tear through any material. As it matures, its scythes, combined with the insectoid's high-flying speed, can become the sharpest thing in all of Remnant!" The portly professor bellowed, as everyone gasped upon hearing that.

"Even sharper than Crescent Rose?!" Ruby asked, with her hand raised.

"Indeed, Miss Rose!" Professor Port answered, causing Ruby to gasp, while Neos put his hand on her shoulder.

"Now then, onto the next one, which is considered much stronger than the Hacksaw; the Hellblazer!" The Huntsman walked towards the picture of a black komodo dragon Grimm, with skeletal armor, and a long thick tail. "While this Grimm isn't capable of flight, it can scale any surface known to man. Its tail is strong enough to repel against any sneak attacks, should anyone be foolish enough to approach it from behind. The biggest trait that this four-legged lizard possesses is the ability to breathe fire!" Professor Port boomed, as everyone was startled by it. "As it grows, the flames that the Hellblazer spews becomes hotter and hotter, and let me tell you, the s'mores you could roast from that, Mmm-mmm!" He joked, which was greeted by silence.

The professor coughed awkwardly, before continuing. "Ahem, anyways. I unfortunately don't have enough data to give you a deeper analysis, but thankfully, today's special guest lecturer can fill you all in. Everyone, please give a warm Beacon Academy welcome to Atlas' own child prodigy, Lieutenant Ivan Stone!"

Everyone cheered as they witnessed the young lieutenant march towards the front of the lecture hall, hands behind his back, as he stood up straight to face the students. He was a blonde young man in his early twenties with clear blue eyes, and was quite tall for his age. He wore a white jacket and an outfit similar to Ironwood's, except his jacket was covered with medals. It's been known that Ivan was the youngest Huntsman to have ever graduated from any Academy; graduating at the very top of Beacon Academy at the age of fourteen, as well as doing some studies at Atlas. He then enlisted into the Atlesian Army at the age of fifteen, swiftly moving up the ranks to lieutenant, where he also serves as General Ironwood's right hand man.

Lieutenant Stone bowed, before speaking in a dignified tone. "Thank you, Professor Port. Greeting students of Beacon, I have heard many wonderful things about you, and let me just state that I am honoured to be standing here today in front of such talented Huntsmen and Huntresses in training."

Everyone cheered and applauded, before the Professor raised his hand to shush everyone. "Now then, I can't stay for too long, so allow me to keep this brief. These species of Grimm were discovered late last week, at the volcanic grounds of Mt. Garnet. We have not yet determined how these creatures came to be, but I can say that even though their race is small, it can expand rapidly. In addition, these Grimm are extremely dangerous; even said to rival that of the King Taijitu!" Everyone gasped. "However, I assure you, you have nothing to worry about. Neither of these Grimm have been spotted in Vale, so I highly doubt that they pose any major threat at the moment. Now, I wish I could stay a while longer, but I'm afraid I have very important matters to attend to. So, allow me to state this; never give up on your goals, always work hard and achieve greatness. But just remember, never go at it alone! As long as you stand and fight together with your friends and teammates, you can perform anything that you put your heart and mind into! And with that, I bid you farewell." Lieutenant Ivan Stone bowed as everyone applauded. After the young Lieutenant exited, the bell rang as Professor Port reminded everyone to catch up on their reading.

"Wow! He is truly an inspiration!" Ruby squealed, as Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN walked down the hallways.

"Tell me about it, I don't think I could ever be as amazing as him." Pyrrha admitted.

"Don't worry, you're still amazing to us… and especially to me." Jaune assured while kissing her cheek, as Pyrrha blushed.

"I'll admit, while I don't think too highly of Atlas' military, that kid's got spunk." Neos cracked.

"Well duh. What did you expect from Remnant's own child prodigy?" Weiss gloated. "Why, I remember my sister telling me all about his accomplishments when I was younger."

"Plus, I've heard that he's even shown to have sympathy for the Faunus." Blake added, feeling a little fuzzy inside.

"Lieutenant Stone is one shining beacon!" Damien joked, with Neos groaning at his horrible pun, while Yang gave him a huge smooch.

As they continued to walk down the hallways, they saw Professor Goodwitch standing in front of them, as she called out to them. "Excuse me, but Ozpin told me that he wished to see you twelve." She stated, while everyone stood wondering.

"Why?" Ryu asked.

"He didn't say. Now, follow me." She said with the same calm tone, as she adjusted her glasses and walked towards Ozpin's office.

After wondering what was going on, the three teams followed the professor to Ozpin's office. Glynda knocked on the door, to which Ozpin allowed them to enter. After the students entered, Professor Goodwitch turned to leave.

"Welcome. I'm glad you could come." The headmaster greeted warmly, with everyone greeting back, still confused. Eventually, Ozpin decided to dispel any tension. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I've called you all over here, because there is a very important task I need your help with." Ozpin motioned to his right, as everyone was shocked to see Lieutenant Ivan Stone walking towards the right of the headmaster. "I believe you're already familiar with Lieutenant Stone."

Ivan nodded. "Thank you, Headmaster Ozpin. Now, I've heard a lot of wonderful things about the twelve of you; from both Ozpin and General Ironwood. I've been told how you managed to slay that mighty Grimm-like abomination in Vale. Most impressive!" He bowed towards the students, before cutting to the chase. "This is why I have come here today. My scouts have told me that they have spotted the White Fang operating a base at Mt. Garnet. Though their plans remain unclear, whatever it is, we can be certain that it spells disaster for us all!"

"What?!" Blake shouted.

"Wait a minute, why isn't the Atlesian Army stopping them?" Weiss asked.

"I'm afraid even the Atlesian Army is unable to do anything at the moment, Ms. Schnee." The Lieutenant grimly said. "That is why I have come to enlist your assistance. If what I have heard is true, then I believe that you twelve have what it takes to stop them." He stepped forward, before getting down on one knee. "Please, the fate of the world depends on you."

Being faced with the exact same situation, everyone discussed this with each other before coming to a decision. "Okay, we'll do it!" Ruby stated.

Lieutenant Stone got up, and smiled towards them. "Excellent! And worry not, I shall lead the expedition. Now then, I'll give you all one hour to prepare yourselves, and once you're ready, I'll be waiting in front of the campus."

After Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN exited Ozpin's office, Lieutenant Stone turned towards the Headmaster. "I certainly hope you are right about these children."

Ozpin simply took a sip from his mug, before replying. "Of course. These twelve are powerful enough to handle anything."

"Hmm…" The Lieutenant sighed sorrowfully. "I apologize deeply for involving you and your students in this. But if what you say is true about them, then they are our biggest hope in defeating… **him**."

Ozpin gave a light chuckle. "Worry not, Mr. Stone. I am more than happy to lend a hand to one of my best pupils."

"You haven't changed a bit." Ivan smiled back. "Thank you, Headmaster Ozpin. I assure you, I will do whatever it takes to protect these twelve!" He stated, before taking his leave.

Ozpin looked outside the window, and muttered to himself. "I hope for your sake, that you don't do anything you may regret, Mr. Stone."

After waiting by the campus statue, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN all arrived, packed and ready, dressed in their regular combat attire, with their weapons equipped. Lieutenant Stone smiled and nodded. "Excellent! Everyone appears to be well prepared. Shall we get going?" He signaled to his driver, as a giant Atlesian airship landed beside them. Everyone got aboard as the airship took off.

As the airship was still in flight, Lieutenant Stone started to brief everyone in. "Now then, young Huntsmen and Huntresses of Beacon. We will be arriving shortly at the desolate grounds of Mt. Garnet. Legends say that when this volcano once erupted, it threatened to engulf all of Remnant in lava. However, thanks to the efforts of the Huntsmen at the time, the crisis was averted, and as such, the land around it was sealed off, to prevent any further harm, and thus, Mt. Garnet remained dormant for many years to come."

After listening in to the history lesson, Pyrrha decided to ask her question. "So, why exactly have the White Fang shown up, to set up their base?"

"Excellent question, Ms. Nikos. Now, my scouts haven't figured out their reasons for doing so, but if my assumptions are correct, the consequences will spell disaster for all of us..." Ivan grimly stated. "Regardless, our only goal is to stop the White Fang's plans!" He turned his attention to everyone. "I won't lie to you, this may be the most dangerous mission you have faced in your entire lives. But rest assured, I have absolute faith in your skills. After all, I've heard remarkable things about you from both Ozpin and General Ironwood."

"Attention ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching our destination!" The pilot signalled to everyone.

"Understood!" Ivan replied back, as he turned again. "Now then everyone, we shall be landing shortly, so I hope you are all prepared to do whatever it takes, to preserve the greater good! Is everyone ready?" Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN all nodded in confirmation. "Excellent!"

The pilot spoke over the telecom, to his passengers. "We have arrived at our destination, folks. Please line up single file by the door as you prepare for landing."

Jaune was confused by what the pilot had said. "Uh, what exactly did he mean by that?"

"Simple, Mr. Arc. We will be jumping out of the airship, and onto the grounds." Lieutenant Stone explained.

"W-what?!" Jaune panicked.

"Come now. You should all be used to this by now. Besides, these grounds are too dangerous for the airship to park safely. Therefore, this is the only course of action; so, make sure you utilize your landing strategies! Now then, we have no time to waste, so let's get going! I'll go first, to make sure everyone reaches safe and sound; I'll meet you all below!" Lieutenant Ivan Stone finished, as he leapt from the airship.

After reaching his target, Lieutenant Stone faced upwards, as each student descended onto the grounds one by one. After everyone landed safe and sound, the young prodigy addressed the three teams. "Behold, Mt. Garnet!" He pointed outwards towards the barren wasteland, filled with nothing but dead trees, and rocky grounds.

"To think this once beautiful habitat was host to the bountiful wildlife." Weiss commented.

"Yes, but now that has now been wiped out due to the eruption." Ren pointed out.

The three teams look over the horizon, and notice a few tiny cabins on some hills, as well as a few newborn trees. "Hey Ivan, what's the deal with that?" Nora wondered.

"As you can see there, we are currently undergoing construction here, to restore this forest back to what it once was, and hopefully one day to open it back up to the public." Lieutenant Stone answered.

"So, I'm guessing people still decide to take up residence here." Gwen pondered.

"Indeed. Since there is no crime of any sort here, it is considered to be the ideal place to live in if you're looking to live a life away from the city." Ryu commented.

"However, due to the recent activities going on here, the White Fang plan to take that all away." Blake muttered.

"Unless we stop them now." Ruby said.

"Well said, everyone. Now then, we need to proceed into the forest to uncover their hidden base here. Just a quick warning; the Grimm spotted here are much stronger than any of those lurking in the Emerald Forest. I trust you all have your weapons ready?" Everyone nodded as they all drew their weapons. Lieutenant Stone nodded as they all proceeded into the forest.

As they continued to walk, they came across a large cavern. The group stopped when they heard a growl emitting from the cave. "What was that?" Neos wondered. His question was answered when a large Hellblazer stepped out from its hole.

"Whoa! A Hellblazer!" Yang remarked.

"It's just like the one Port mentioned in class today!" Damien added.

The giant Hellblazer roared into the sky, shooting a large dark flame upwards, attracting more Grimm to its location. Ursas, Beowolves, and even a few Hacksaws emerged behind the group. Before they knew it, they were all trapped between the creatures.

Lieutenant Ivan Stone drew out his weapon from behind him; a giant silver 2-handed sword, which he held with just one hand. He turned to the three teams, and addressed them. "All right, everyone. This is where it begins. Show me what you are all truly capable of. Demonstrate to me, the skills that you have learned from Beacon. Prove that you are worthy of being called Huntsmen and Huntresses!" Lieutenant Stone declared, as everyone cheered and got ready for battle. "I'll handle the Hellblazer, you handle the rest! Now let's go!"

* * *

 **Behold, the first part of this plot done. Several notes here; first off, I know Lieutenant Ivan Stone may seem like a Mary-sue (being talented at a young age or something), but that's pretty much how he is. His personality is him having a similar sword technique like Ike from Fire Emblem, but as is also someone who risks everything to find the truth, like Miles Edgeworth in Ace Attorney Investigations 2. His appearance is similar to that of Leo from Fire Emblem Fates.**

 **Now, as for the Grimm species I thought of. The Hacksaw is supposed to be a mix between Kha'zix from League of Legends, and Kabutops from Pokémon (even though they are probably similar). The Hellblazer is basically a Komodo Dragon design of a fire dragon from the DS Fire Emblem games (in case you couldn't tell, I love Fire Emblem XD).**

 **I'll try and explain more details as the plot unfolds, but until then, I'll see you guys later.**


	25. Chapter 25: A Very Grimm Situation

**Hello again, everyone. I'm back with another new chapter. Just a head's up, these next two chapters are going to be a little dark. I apologize if this puts anyone off. The thing is, I wanna try and incorporate some darker ideas into this story, but every time I do try, things just end up being too complicated, and I end up scrapping them all together; so screw it, I'm not gonna bother with it. Also, don't get too attached to Ivan Stone; he's here for a few chapters and that's it, he's just a temporary character.**

 **Also, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but Lieutenant Stone is supposed to be second-in-command to General Ironwood, but I wasn't entirely sure if Lieutenant is the second highest rank. I learned that Lieutenant-General is second highest, but I'm not going with that, so Lieutenant it is. (Title was made by Yang, let's roll with that). Now on with the story.**

* * *

Everyone prepared for battle, as Lieutenant Stone stared against the Hellblazer, while the students divided into groups of four against the three types of Grimm. Weiss, Blake, Ren, and Nora faced off against the Beowolves; Ryu, Gwen, Jaune, and Pyrrha fought against the Ursas; and Ruby, Yang, Damien, and Neos were left with the Hacksaws.

The four who faced off against the Beowolves had the easiest time, even though there was a large amount of them. Weiss waved Myrtenaster around and froze half of the Beowolves to the ground, then she sped herself up by creating her glyphs, and slashed a few of them. Blake fought against a larger Beowolf, by wrapping Gambol Shroud around its neck and dragged herself closer to her target, and chopped at it with her cleaver. Ren's speed was too much as he delivered several strong swift slashes with StormFlower, and shot at the rest, giving Nora enough time to smash them with Magnhild, completely slaying them.

The group that faced off against the Ursas were almost evenly matched. Gwen twirled her IceBorn Bow at one of the Ursas, hitting it with a barrage of slashes. While it was recovering from the attack, she waved her hand and summoned her Ice Elemental Knight, which was able to thrust its sword into the Ursa, completely killing it. Before she could be ambushed by another Ursa, she commanded her elemental to block the attack, causing the second Ursa to freeze upon contact, allowing Ryu to cut it in half with his Yahto Blade. He then turned towards the Ursa Major that Jaune and Pyrrha were up against. The swordsman transformed his katana into a rifle, shooting fast-traveling bullets to distract it. Jaune allowed Pyrrha to jump off Crocea Mors, while Pyrrha, who had Miló in its spear form, delivered a barrage of quick stabs, while impaling the giant beast in its head.

The group that fought against the Hacksaws had a bit of a harder time, since they haven't had much training against these newer species. Ruby blocked the biped's scythes from tearing into her with Crescent Rose. She then spun her weapon to deflect its attacks, while shooting it in its head. While the first Hacksaw was stunned, Neos dashed towards it, slashing it with his Claws of Mjolnir, and performed his spinning drill attack, piercing a hole in its stomach. As soon as the second Hacksaw saw its comrade fall, it hissed and expanded its wings, preparing to slash the red head, but Yang fired a few shots from Ember Celica, drawing its attention. The blonde boxer dashed out of the way, while Damien shot a stream of fire from his Twin Dragon Fangs. While the Hacksaw was on fire, Damien readied himself, as he shot forward, delivering a powerful fire punch, completely punching through the middle.

After everyone finished disposing the remaining Grimm, they turned their attention towards Lieutenant Stone, who was continuing his hot battle with the Hellblazer. The Komodo dragon Grimm climbed onto the walls of the cave it exited, where it spewed its dark flames at the young Lieutenant, who was able to dodge it with swift moments. After it leapt off the wall, Ivan Stone dashed towards it, wielding his blade, Tyrion, as he dealt several strong slashes back and forth. While the Hellblazer tried to recover, the young Lieutenant dug his sword into the ground, causing an eruption under the large Grimm, launching it upwards. With its belly exposed, Lieutenant Stone transformed his weapon into a large blaster, as he charged his shot, firing a huge laser beam at it, which completely passed through the Hellblazer. The Grimm exploded into pieces, as everyone watched in amazement, while Lieutenant Stone sheathed his weapon.

He turned towards the young Huntsmen and Huntresses in training, and gave a small proud smile. "Well done, everyone! You've all shown such remarkable skill out there. Just remember to never lose your drive to fight." After finishing his short speech, he examined the area, and noticed that the fallen Grimm were disintegrating. Lieutenant Stone also noticed that all the particles of the dissolving Grimm were traveling in one direction. "Hmm, it's just as I thought." He muttered to himself.

"What is?" Ruby wondered.

"Never mind that right now, Miss Rose. It's just a small theory I have. It will all be revealed as soon as my suspicions are correct." The Lieutenant replied, before getting a call from his scroll. "Lieutenant Stone speaking, what's the situation? ... What?! Are you certain?" He shouted, causing everyone else to feel concerned. "Understood, we'll be there right away!" He turned back to everyone else. "That was one of my scouts. We've just received word that the White Fang is currently razing the village nearby!"

Everyone was shocked at the news. "What?!" Blake shouted.

"Well, we've got to hurry then!" Neos stated.

"Indeed! Let's move!" Ivan added, as the large group ran towards the village. Unfortunately, by the time they reached it, all of the cabins were burned down, and all of the residents were killed. "No…" That was all the Lieutenant could mouth. All three teams were horrified at the scene in front of them.

"W-we were too late!" Gwen cried, as Ryu held her tightly.

"I can't believe they would actually do something like this…" Ren gloomily said, shaking his head.

"Why? Why would they do such a thing?!" Blake fell to her knees, sounding on the verge of tears.

Damien bent down, and comforted the Faunus. "I wish I knew, Blake." He turned to Lieutenant Stone, whose eyes were closed, as he was in thought. "Well Lieutenant? Any explanation for this?"

Before Lieutenant Stone could answer, two Atlas soldiers approached them, one male and one female, and both wearing white armor. The female soldier was carrying a report. "Ah, Elijah, Ellie. Were you able to finish gathering all the data?'

"Yes sir! Here are the findings." Ellie responded, as she handed the report to her boss.

Lieutenant Stone quickly skimmed through the folder, and closed it, while solemnly nodding. "I knew it. This whole massacre was **his** doing after all!" He muttered, as he handed the report back.

"Wait, whose doing?" Jaune wondered.

"Well done you two! It's clear what must be done now!" Lieutenant Stone stated, clenching his fist. "Anything else?"

Elijah stepped forward. "Yes sir! We've received a call from General Ironwood!" Ivan lowered his head at that bit of information. "He is not pleased at the moment. He said he would be arriving shortly to discuss important matters with you."

The three teams were wondering just what exactly was going on right now. "I see. Tell him to meet us at these co-ordinates. I will speak to him once I wrap up business. Understand?" The Lieutenant ordered.

The two soldiers saluted their Lieutenant. "Yes sir!" They shouted, before Ivan dismissed them.

Lieutenant Stone sighed, before he saw the three teams, who seemed to not to be too amused with the secrets being kept from them.

"Okay, start talking! What is going on here?" Damien demanded.

"Why is the White Fang terrorizing these villages, and slaughtering the citizens?" Blake asked.

"Who is this mysterious person you keep referring to?" Neos shouted.

"Why would General Ironwood be upset with you?" Ryu wondered.

"And why are there no other Atlesian soldiers besides them?" Pyrrha added.

Lieutenant Stone sighed. "Very well. I knew it was only a matter of time." He motioned for everyone to sit down, as he got ready to discuss the full details of the mission. "I believe you were all aware of how the Grimm have been up here?"

"Yeah, they've been stronger than any of the other Grimm we've faced off." Damien mentioned.

"And their fighting style is rather peculiar, though I can't quite seem to make any thoughts of it." Yang added.

"Not to mention, that they dissolved in one direction." Weiss remembered.

Ivan nodded. "Exactly. That was no mere coincidence. The Grimm here are being used as part of a plot to create and control an army of super-powered Grimm, capable of ravaging all of Remnant!"

"Say what?!" Nora screamed.

"How would that even be possible?!" Ruby asked.

"Well, as you may know. Grimm have no conscience; they have no emotions or souls, meaning they have no control of themselves. But, when infused with the souls of us living beings, they can be ordered to do anything!" Ivan continued, while everyone tried to comprehend that thought. "That's why they ordered the White Fang to attack the village and kill all the villagers; to collect their souls needed. The savage brutality of the Grimm, combined with the Auras and souls of mankind, and you have the most powerful fighters of all time."

"Who would do such a horrible thing?!" Yang demanded.

Lieutenant Stone, closed his eyes, before answering in a dark tone. "I can think of only one person, Ms. Xiao Long; Victor Blaze!"

Weiss gasped when she heard this. "Victor Blaze?!"

Ruby was clueless with she heard this. "Who?"

Weiss was about to scold Ruby for not knowing, but Lieutenant Stone stopped her, and explained. "Victor Blaze was a former inventor for the Atlesian Army. He was always inventing new weapons and other technological equipment strong enough for Atlas. In fact, he's the creator of the Atlesian Paladins that you know today. However, one day, Victor came up an idea to train Grimm to fight alongside the Atlesian Army, an idea that nobody clearly supported except him."

"So, what ended up happening to him?" Jaune asked.

"Despite no supporters, Mr. Blaze still went through with his horrid plan. He tampered with the equipment, and created a Beowolf that had the soul of a former Huntress." Lieutenant Stone stated. "When he tried to show his 'creation' to General Ironwood, the Beowolf screamed out in pain, and almost tore the leader to pieces! Upon seeing this, General Ironwood killed the Beowolf, shut down his project, and immediately kicked Victor out of Atlas!"

"No way…" Blake mouthed. "But wait, why would Victor co-operate with the White Fang?"

"Well, Ms. Belladonna, I'm not entirely sure why Mr. Blaze would be working with the organization, but if I were to guess, it would probably be because they actually do support his plan of controlling an army of Grimm!" Ivan answered, to the shocked Faunus.

"That's insane!" Yang stated, her voice filled with anger.

"But that still doesn't explain why there aren't any other Atlesian soldiers out there, or why General Ironwood is displeased with you." Damien reminded.

Lieutenant Stone sighed, before confessing. "The truth is Mr. Crimson… that Victor Blaze and I… were once partners!"

Everyone almost fell back when they heard that. They couldn't believe what they had heard. Ivan Stone and Victor Blaze were former partners in the Atlesian Army.

"W-What?! You were partners with him?" Ruby stammered. "So, what happened?"

"You see, Miss Rose. During my early years in the Atlesian Army, I was paired up in the same division as Victor Blaze. We fought together as a team, as we always had each other's back. The two of us were unstoppable partners!" Ivan reminisced. "As time went on, our interests divided us, with Victor wanting to be an inventor, while I would stay in the fields as a soldier. Yet, we were still good friends. Until the day he decided to show off his 'creation.' I was the first person that he told me about his idea. Of course, I was mortified, and I pleaded with him to not go through with this, but he wouldn't listen!" Ivan yelled in bitterness and anger, starting to break his Army demeanor.

"What did he do when he got fired?" Pyrrha asked.

"He tried to ask me to convince Ironwood to change his mind about his Grimm-army idea. He looked to me, as he thought he could trust me to have his back. However, I just couldn't do it; I couldn't support his plan even if I wanted to!" Ivan yelled, before closing his eyes. "So, I turned him away. Ever since then, our friendship was permanently broken that day. The friend I once knew had changed; he had become a twisted, power-hungry maniac, only wanting to create weapons of mass destruction. After he left, I slowly started to get him out of my mind, though I couldn't stop thinking about him. Once I became Lieutenant, I started to search and locate Victor to bring him in for questioning, but to no avail. Until weeks ago, the White Fang had launched an attack in my base. General Ironwood was tending to the Breach in Vale that day, so I was left in charge. While I was wrestling them, I could not believe my eyes. I saw Victor, my ex-best friend, co-operating with those criminals! I knew he wanted to retrieve his device that we had confiscated before, and I had to stop him, at all costs!"

Everyone was listening inventively, while Neos asked. "So, what ended up happening?"

"As I stood my ground, I was prepared to stop Victor, but part of me wanted him to go back to the way he once was. So, I let my guard down, and I was knocked unconscious by our enemies. When I had awoken, Victor and the White Fang had vanished, along with his devices." Ivan continued. "At that moment, I have made a big decision, the friend I knew was officially dead to me, and I would do whatever it took to bring him to justice; by my own hands!" He shouted, clenching his wrist.

Everyone was shocked when they realized what he meant by that. "Wait a moment, does General Ironwood even know about this?!" Weiss demanded.

Lieutenant Stone faced the heiress, and shook his head. "No, Miss Schnee. I never informed him about the events that had happened. The only ones who knew at the time were myself, as well as Elijah and Ellie. I told them that I would take full responsibility for what had happened, and I made them promise not to report anything to General Ironwood!" He sighed, as he continued. "And so, my reasons for coming back to Beacon to request your assistance, is because I know you are the only ones capable of stopping this threat. I had a feeling Ozpin would allow you to stop the White Fang, which is why I personally asked him to lend me your help. I know it was wrong of me to ask you to help me clean up my own mess, and for that I am truly sorry."

The young Lieutenant arose and stared sternly at them, while speaking with a very serious tone. "However, this is a necessary step to understand what it truly means to be a Huntsman/Huntress! I may be Lieutenant of the Army of Atlas, but myself, as well as General Ironwood, and all instructors of Remnant, are still Huntsmen, like the rest of you. So, remind me, what is our duty as Huntsmen and Huntresses?" He asked everyone.

Ruby answered, with a determined tone. "To slay the Grimm, and uphold the peace in our world!"

Lieutenant Stone nodded. "Correct! And you've all shown me that you would do whatever it takes to do so, no matter what anyone says. Regardless of my duties to the Atlesian Army, my duties as a Huntsman still hold true. Therefore, I will not sit back, and let Victor Blaze run free to wreak his monstrosities. I can assure you, whatever happens here today, I will take full responsibility for everything, no matter what the consequences may be!" He crouched on his right leg, as he groveled to the three teams. "That is why I ask you, not as an Atlesian Lieutenant, but as a Huntsman, will you help me stop this madman?"

After a brief moment of silence, all twelve students rose, weapons held in the air, as they all cheered, "Yeah!"

Lieutenant Ivan Stone smiled, as he got up and bowed. "Thank you very much. I knew I could count on all of you!" He got back into his Army persona, as he stood up straight. "Now then, my scouts should be able to trace Victor's location by now."

"Lieutenant Stone!" Elijah shouted, as he and Ellie ran towards them. "Sir! We've located Mr. Blaze's hideout!"

"Ah, excellent work, you two!" Ivan nodded. "Please, lead the way at once!"

"Certainly! Right this way everyone!" Ellie replied, as everyone made their way back into the forest.

As everyone made in to a large cabin near the base of Mt. Garnet, an alarm blared out as several White Fang members emerged onto the scene. These WF goons were the elite members of the organization, as they wore extra armor than the regular members, which was also darker and stronger. Their weapons had also been upgraded by a certain individual. It was made clear who that individual was, as a tall rough orange-haired man, in elite WF armor, who was also wearing a tattered Atlesian robe, stood on top of the cabin. He removed his mask, to reveal his scarred face.

"Victor!" Lieutenant Stone shouted, his teeth gritting.

Victor Blaze smiled psychotically at the small opposing army. "Well, well, well! If it isn't my old friend, Lieutenant Ivan Stone! How have you been?!"

Ivan stared angrily, while trying to obtain his demeanour. "Save the chitchat! As Lieutenant of the mighty army of Atlas, I hereby order your arrest, Victor Blaze, as well as all present members of The White Fang!" He commanded.

Victor and the WF laughed at his proclamation. "Oh come now, Ivan. Is that any way to treat your buddy?" He asked nonchalantly, trying to get under his skin.

Ivan started to lose his grip, as he spoke venomously. "You stopped being my friend the moment you attacked me. I am dragging you back to Atlas, whether you're alive or not!" He pointed to him.

"Is that right? And do you really think you'll be able to stop me?!" Victor shouted, as he glared towards his enemies.

"Yes, we will!" Lieutenant Stone declared, as he redirected his attention to the band of Huntsmen and Huntresses behind him, as well as Elijah and Ellie.

"Hmph! We'll see about that!" He pulled out his weapon; a long staff with a Grimm skull on top of it. He pushed the button, attracting a large horde of Grimm to his location; Beowolves, Ursas, Nevermores, Death Stalkers, Hacksaws, and Hellblazers. He then leapt off the cabin, as it opened up to reveal a large apparatus, with a big satellite on top. The satellite beamed outwards, as the Grimm started to screech in pain. Slowly, the Grimm started to become infused with the souls of the dead, with everyone looked onwards in horror.

"I can't believe him! Infusing the souls of the fallen, with the Grimm like that!" Ryu remarked.

"Those poor souls! The screams the Grimm are making, it's clear that the dead are in so much pain!" Pyrrha pointed out, her hand cupped over her mouth.

"Attention White Fang members, you stand here equipped the best armor and weapons that I have designed for you. You also stand besides these Grimm, but rest assured, you have nothing to fear. These creatures are under my control, so you will fight alongside them." Victor pointed out to the White Fang Elites, as he put his mask back on. "Now go my creations, go forth and destroy these fools!" He shouted to the Grimm, as he pushed the button on his staff, causing the Grimm to recoil in pain again, before their skull heads glowed the same colour as their eyes.

" **A-as you command… master…"** A Beowolf howled weakly.

An Ursa spoke, the soul trying to resist, but he couldn't. " **We will… k-k-k-kill all those who defy…"**

"Listen to that. The torment that they are being put through…" Ren grimly stated, shaking his head.

"What's worse, is that the only way to free their souls is to slay these Grimm!" Gwen added.

"It's clear that they want to rest, but as long as he's controlling them, that can't happen!" Yang yelled, starring angrily at Victor, her eyes glowing red.

"I've seen a lot of messed up things back then, but this atrocity tops the damn crap hole!" Neos gritted. Everyone faces turned from shock to pure anger at Victor.

"I can't believe such an eviler person like Torchwick would even exist, but apparently this slimeball proves it!" Ruby glared.

"There is absolutely no way in hell he's slipping past us!" Damien declared, shaking his fiery hand.

"Indeed! Come on everybody! This is one battle we cannot afford to lose!" Lieutenant Stone shouted, as he drew Tyrion, pointing it towards Victor. The two armies ran towards the centre, preparing to clash.

* * *

 **There you go, that was a long one, wasn't it? In case you're wondering, this story is a reference to the DLC Chapter in Fire Emblem - Awakening: Death's Embrace. You know, the one where Chrom and his army fought against Risen being forced against their will. Although, you do have to wonder if people can control Grimm to fight for them (and I don't just mean people like Salem, or possibly Cinder). And yes, Lieutenant Stone's weapon is named after Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones, because they're both short, but powerful, idk. Anyways, take care everybody!**


	26. Chapter 26: Whatever It Takes

**Hello everyone, it's been quite a** **while since I last posted a chapter, but here we are. This chapter is going to be a little darker than the last, despite the fact that when I try to be dark, the story just ends up being more complicated.**

 **Also, a shout-out to a message I got from Nab2425. Thank you for your kind message; I'm glad you enjoy the story, and I'm glad to continue writing, for as long as it takes.**

* * *

As the battle unfolded, Lieutenant Stone, Elijah and Ellie, as well as Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN fought their hardest against Victor Blaze and his army of mind-controlled Grimm, and White Fang Elites. It was clear that these WF goons were stronger than the regular goons, thanks to their upgraded armor and weaponry, as well as some of them riding the Grimm to their advantage.

These enemies were putting up a hell of a fight, as everyone struggled to keep up. As much as it pained them, the Huntsmen and Huntresses didn't want to harm the souls of those who had already passed, but they had to kill the Grimm to free their souls.

An Ursa swiped its hand at Yang, while grunting. " **Forgive us… We cannot fight the urge…"**

The blonde boxer grimaced at it, but stayed strong. "It's not your fault!" She assured, as she fired a blast from Ember Celica, into its head. "We'll free you. I promise!"

Gwen saw a Nevermore crying out as it nosedived at the archer. She shot a volley of arrows, encasing it in ice, causing it to plummet to the ground. She then ordered her ice elemental knight to slice it.

 **"** **Thank… you…"** The Nevermore muttered, before it died, while Gwen's heart was feeling heavy from the pain these souls were being put through.

Two WF Elites were riding on top of a HellBlazer, much against its will, as it tried to shake it off.

Ruby and Damien glared angrily, as Ruby demanded. "Hey, leave that poor creature alone!"

One of the WF Elites shot a frag grenade from its gun, as the two dodged the subsequent explosions that followed. Ruby used her semblance and dashed towards them, the tailwind knocking them down. As they got back up, Damien charged his Twin Dragon Fangs, as he incinerated them. Ruby fought the Hellblazer, as she dodged the fire that it spewed, before implanting Crescent Rose on its head.

 **"** **To rest… If only I could…"** The Hellblazer said, before dying.

Ruby's grip on her weapon started to falter, as she was on the verge on tears. "Why… Why must this be so hard?" She whimpered.

Damien put his hand on her shoulder. "I know this hurts, Ruby. Believe me, it pains me to do this, but it's the only way to save them!" He assured.

The red head nodded, and picked up her weapon. "Then let's make sure that this madness stops now!"

The battle continued to unfold, as the skies started to turn dark red. Our heroes continued fighting to their fullest extent. Weiss, Blake, Ren, and Ryu were confronted by a WF Elite with a glowing red sword, a Death Stalker, and a Hacksaw. Weiss and Blake handled the White Fang member and Death Stalker, while Ren and Ryu fought against the Hacksaw.

"Come on, you stupid Grimm. Attack!" The WF Elite pointed towards the two. "Impale that bloody Heiress!"

" **I… obey…"** The scorpion screeched.

Weiss pointed Myrtenaster, while coldly addressing the WF. "You deplorable crook. I'm well aware of all your past crimes, but this?!"

Blake also stared daggers as she readied Gambol Shroud. "Is this truly what the White Fang has become? To stoop so low as to controlling Grimm like this?!"

The White Fang Elite smirked, as he charged his blade, firing a red wave at the two girls. Weiss and Blake jumped towards opposite directions to dodge, while the Death Stalker brought its stinger down to impale Blake. The Faunus used her semblance to create a shadow clone, which took the hit. Meanwhile, Weiss was busy fighting against the White Fang Elite, who swung his blade towards the heiress. After dodging his attacks, she created an ice glyph, trapping the Elite mook in ice, before impaling him with Myrtenaster.

Afterwards, Weiss turned her attention towards Blake and the Death Stalker. She created another glyph to block the scorpion's attack on Blake. Once they got up, they both yelled out, "Checkmate!" as they combined their strength to overwhelm the Death Stalker before finishing it off.

As for Ren and Ryu, they continued their battle with the Hacksaw, who flapped its insect wings and lunged at the two. Ryu swung his Yahto Blade to block the attack, allowing Ren to strike from behind. With the Hacksaw's attention being diverted, the two speed demons slashed the Grimm from both sides, defeating it.

 **"** **End this… torment…"** The Hacksaw muttered, before it died.

"This is inexcusable! No one should be forced to do something like this!" Ryu yelled.

"I know, but the sooner we put them down, the quicker they can find eternal rest!" Ren replied.

The bloody war was reaching an end, as Victor saw that his 'children' were being killed. Before he could approach his device, Lieutenant Stone called him out, making him turn to face him.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Ivan bellowed, with Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Neos, Elijah, and Ellie backing him up.

"Fools, you can't stop what I have created! My children will bring demise to all of our enemies!" Victor cackled.

"Can't you see all the suffering you're bringing to those who's lives have already passed by forcing them into the bodies of the Grimm?!" Pyrrha shouted.

"Ignorant girl, these souls fuel these Grimm to slaughter anything in my way! And as long as I control them, there is nothing you can do to stop me!" He shouted, as he increased the power of his device, causing all the other Grimm to howl in even more pain, while increasing their strength.

Jaune was livid with anger. "Damn you! I'LL KILL YOU!" He tried to dash towards Victor, but Neos and Nora restrained him.

"Get a grip, man! That's exactly what he wants from you!" Neos retorted.

"We can't let our anger get the better of us!" Pyrrha added, making Jaune calm down.

A swarm of Beowolves and White Fang Elites circled them. Lieutenant Stone ordered them to take care of them, while he went after his ex-best friend by himself. The Grimm and White Fang started to push back everyone, as they were all getting exhausted from the bloodshed.

Victor lifted his mask, as he grinned towards Ivan. "So, you really wanna do this? Last time we fought, I was able to easily beat you."

"That's because I held back on you!" Lieutenant Stone stated, while pointing Tyrion towards him. "This time, I will not show you any mercy!"

Victor laughed while rolling his eyes. "Oh please. This should prove to be a waste of time!" He put his mask back on, while he removed a cover on his staff, revealing a long, thin blade. "Let's go, Lieutenant!"

Lieutenant Ivan Stone charged towards Victor Blaze, as their blades clashed. Ivan swung his blade towards Victor, who leapt upwards, and brought his sword downwards. Lieutenant Stone blocked his attack, and pushed him back. He then charged towards Victor, swinging Tyrion, but Victor was simply too fast for him. The ex-Atlas inventor slashed towards his leg, as Ivan screamed out in pain. He then dashed back and forth, draining his aura with each slash. After finishing his assault, Victor kicked Lieutenant Stone in the gut, sending him flying onto the ground.

"Ta ha ha! Is that really all you've got?" Victor taunted the Lieutenant who was lying on his back. "I told you, you could never hope to stop what I have created!" He walked upwards, as he was prepared to plunge his sword into his chest. "Say good night, Lieutenant!"

Before he could finish his attack, Lieutenant Stone lifted his blade, and swung right at Victor's face, completely removing his mask, and causing him to scream while he clutched his face.

"AAAAAHHHH! You son of a bitch!" Victor gritted, but before he could continue cursing, Lieutenant Stone swung his blade towards him, each strike more powerful than the last. After the clash, Ivan knocked Victor's weapon out of his hand, as he was completely exposed.

"It's over!" Ivan declared, as he dug Tyrion into the ground, causing an eruption to shoot Victor into the air. Lieutenant Stone dealt out a barrage of air-slashes, before pushing him into the ground. Once Victor struggled to get up, Ivan shifted his weapon into Blaster Mode, as he charged up his weapon to fire a massive shot at Victor. The blast pushed him into his own device, where once he collided with it, the machine exploded, causing all the soul-infused Grimm to disappear, with the souls finally returned to their eternal rest.

After the remaining White Fang Elites retreated, the dark clouds in the sky vanished, as everyone sighed out of relief that the gruesome battle was finally over. Victor Blaze emerged from the rubble of his machine, as he stared angrily at the large group. "What… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "My creations, my children! ALL BEATEN!"

"It's over, Victor." Ivan calmly stated. "You're coming with me, this instant!"

"This isn't over!" Victor picked up his weapon, and he gritted with a psychotic tone. "You'll pay for this! I'LL KILL YOU!" He charged towards Lieutenant Stone, blade in the hand. However, before he could react, a shot from a revolver rang out, as Victor roared out in pain, dropping his weapon, and holding his arm. "NGH! Who was that?!"

"That would be me!" Everyone turned to see, to their surprise, that the shot came from General Ironwood. He placed his revolver back into his holster, as he ordered his men to apprehend Victor. "Victor Blaze, it is such a shame to see you fallen so low." He stated.

"Burn in hell, Ironwood! ALL OF YOU CAN BURN IN HELL!" Victor screamed, as he kicked away, while being dragged for questioning.

Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN ran up towards Ironwood, as Elijah, Ellie, and Lieutenant Stone all stepped forward to salute their leader. "Sir!"

Ironwood nodded. "At ease! Lieutenant Stone, please step up."

Everyone looked worried as to what was going to happen to Lieutenant Stone. Ivan stood up straight and kept his demeanor. "General Ironwood, sir. What brings you here, to Mt. Garnet sir?"

"I have heard reports that you have managed to track down Victor Blaze, and so I had arrived to offer reinforcements. But I see you've managed to stop his plans. Well done." He moved his head towards everyone else. "And that goes for all of you. We've been trying to track down Mr. Blaze for a long time, and for that you have my gratitude." He turned back to face Lieutenant Stone, as his smile turned to a frown. "However, that is not the only purpose for my visit here!"

Everyone, including Lieutenant Stone, got more and more concerned. "While I am grateful you managed to capture Mr. Blaze, you had no right to go behind my back, and put these children's lives in danger for this mission!"

Ivan bit his lip, while trying to defend himself. "But sir. Mr. Blaze was my former partner. I wished to take personal responsibility for his arrest."

Ironwood silenced him, while continuing sternly. "Regardless of what it may seem, you still had no right to not inform me this situation!" He sighed, before reaching into his coat, and pulling out a document with a white seal. "It pains me to say this, but I have to deliver this to you."

Ivan received the document, and read it, with his eyes widening. "No…"

"W-what is it, sir?" Elijah asked his commanding officer.

"It's a summons by the Atlesian council." Lieutenant Stone stated. "It says I am to appear in front of the council, to discuss the matters of my actions." He explained, while everyone gasped.

"That's right. The Atlesian Council has been made aware of the fact that you've hid this information from the Army, and they will be deciding whether or not to dismiss you!" Ironwood grimly stated.

"Sir, you don't mean…" Ivan spoke.

General Ironwood hung his head sadly, before speaking the inevitable words. "I'm sorry Lieutenant Stone, but for the time being, I have no choice." He stuck his hand outward. "Turn in your badge!"

All three teams were outraged by what was happening, including Elijah and Ellie. "This is crazy! You can't do this to him!" Ruby shouted.

"He stopped that psychopath from unleashing terror on Vale, and you wanna just punish him for hiding it from you?!" Yang roared out.

"General Ironwood, sir! I implore you to reconsider!" Elijah stated.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Lieutenant Stone angrily shouted to everyone, before they all quieted down. "I was full aware of the consequences from the very start, and yet I still went ahead and accepted full responsibility for what happened. Regardless of my duties as Lieutenant of Atlas, I wanted to do whatever it took to ensure the safety of everyone and stop Victor Blaze, by my own accord." He closed his eyes, as he removed his Lieutenant's badge from his jacket. "…Even if it means the end of my career." He finished, before handing his badge to General Ironwood. "But is this really what has to be the end result?"

"It's out of my control." General Ironwood responded. "Your hearing is tomorrow at 9:00 am. I will be there to make sure that you attend. And…" He faced Lieutenant Stone, before smiling. "I will be there to help speak on your behalf!"

Everyone gasped yet again when they heard General Ironwood say he would defend Lieutenant Stone. "Ivan, defying your commanding officer's order is a serious violation, but even so, I can understand your reasons for doing so. Besides, you're one of my best soldiers, and I refuse to let you walk out like this! That is why I will gladly help out your case!"

Lieutenant Stone was speechless. "General… Thank you!"

General Ironwood nodded, before facing the large group. "As for the rest of you, you all welcome to attend the hearing if you wish!" With that said, General Ironwood and Ivan Stone boarded the airship.

Elijah and Ellie faced the three teams. "All right everyone, we will be escorting you back to Beacon. Is everyone ready?" Ellie asked. All twelve students nodded, before they all got on a larger airship. The two soldiers piloted the airship, as they took off from Mt. Garnet.

* * *

 **Phew! Another chapter done. Next chapter will be Lieutenant Stone's last appearance. Also, I know Elijah and Ellie don't have much character in this story, but that's because they are merely soldiers of the Atlesian Army. With that said, I'll see you next time for the fate of Lieutenant Stone!**


	27. Team DRGN: Character Bios

**Hello everyone. Here's something I should have done a very, VERY long time ago. I'm going to provide the OC Introductions for the four characters of Team DRGN. I'll try and be brief about their appearance, weapon info, personality, and semblances, since at this point, we all gathered a lot about them. With that said, let's begin.**

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 **Character #1: **

**Name & Height: **Damien Crimson (Crimson); his height is 6'00", and he is a Half-Faunus.

 **Appearance:** Crimson-coloured hair in a G-Dragon style, with bangs in the front. His eye colour is brown, and a thin horizontal scar on the right side of his cheek.

 **Outfit:** Wears a dark-blue leather jacket with twin dragon designs on the back of each side, a red tank-top, faded blue jeans, small black boots.

 **Personality:** Damien is a confident young man, who seems to be pretty popular with the ladies. He also enjoys having fun and loves the thrill of battle, always seeking and defeating any opponents tougher than him, while at the same time, being able to come up with effective strategies right off the bat. However, despite this, Damien is a kind-hearted person who always comfort anyone who is saddened, while willing to help others who are unable to help themselves. He is also willing to risk his life to protect his friends no matter what. While Damien may be a pleasant person, you do not want to get on his bad side; since he is known to be extremely scary when angered; even borderline DEMONIC! One of the biggest things to anger him would be to discriminate any Faunus in front of him, as he will immediately teach anyone foolish enough a lesson they will never forget.

 **Weapon: & Fighting Style:** Weapon name is the Twin Dragon Fangs; Dual Adjustable Flamethrower Gauntlets (DAFG) with an adjustable knob, to switch between shooting fast moving fireballs, or a stream of fire. He can aim his flamethrower gauntlets behind him to gain speed while running, or can aim downwards to launch himself upwards like jet boosters. However, his choice of style is a more close-ranged attack style, since he has extremely high strength and stamina. His fighting style is similar to that of Yang, but he is also more skilled with combat, such as utilizing axe-kick attacks.

 **Semblance:** It has three stages which increase his strength and speed each time, giving him fire enhanced punches and kicks to begin with. He draws in power to reach each stage the longer he's been in combat, though he can charge himself to reach each stage more quickly. Similar to Yang, there is no limit to how much strength he can draw in. The third stage gives Damien a crimson glow, giving him maximum power to his fire attacks, and increasing his weapon strength.

 **Character #2:**

 **Name & Height:** Ryu Yahto (Blue); his height is 6'01".

 **Appearance:** Black-hair with blue colouring on the edge (similar to Ruby in a way), and his eye colour is dark-grey.

 **Outfit:** A big white and blue long-coat similar to a samurai which measures up to his knees, a black shirt with a brown strap moving diagonally, black pants, brown plain shoes, and a sheathe for his weapon on his side.

 **Personality:** Ryu is a bit of a quiet individual, who isn't usually too much for conversations. He is a bit of a traditionalist, where whenever he performs a task, he always insists on following instructions down to the last detail. He's also a bit of a stern figure, but that is only because he cares deeply for the safety of his friends, as he tries to make sure that no one does anything reckless that may endanger themselves or anyone else. He does enjoy reading books (specifically anything from the Eastern Culture). He also does mediation every night before going to sleep, as sometimes when he is in need of some peace and quiet, although Ryu really doesn't appreciate it whenever his meditation is interrupted. Despite the boringness, Ryu tries to engage in any fun activities that his teammates wish to partake in (like the food-fight).

 **Weapon & Fighting Style:** Weapon name is the Yahto Blade; a Long-Range Sniper Katana (LRSK), which is a family heirloom passed down from his ancestors before him. It is a long and thin silver blade, with his family's symbol engraved on the button on the handle. Ryu can push the button to transform his katana into a sniper-rifle; allowing him to fire fast-travelling bullets at a very large distance. Ryu is exceptionally gifted with his weapon, but he lacks any hand-to-hand combat skills, making him quite dependant on his weapon. However, he is extremely swift, as his speed allows him to dish out any open-palmed strikes against his opponents. Finally, he is adept at knowing his opponent's weak-points, thereby exploiting it easily.

 **Semblance:** His semblance allows him to control the wind. He connects his semblance with his weapon, allowing him to create large tornadoes to trap his opponents in, or large wind waves to knock his opponents back. He is also capable of using these wind techniques defensively. His wind-based semblance also increases his speed, making him the fastest thing alive.

 **Character #3:**

 **Name &** **Height:** Gwen Charlotteton (White); her height is 5'07".

 **Appearance:** She has long straight white hair measuring to her shoulders, and gold-coloured eyes.

 **Outfit:** She wears a white sweater with a light-blue shirt underneath, a light-blue miniskirt with gold trimmings, small-heeled blue shoes, and a small gold-chained necklace with an ice dust crystal in the centre (given to her by her late mother).

 **Personality:** Gwen can be a shy and meek girl, usually nervous when she first tried to meet new people, but as long as keeps her necklace on her, she can feel the courage welling up inside her to do her best for those around her. She is a very kind-girl who cares deeply for everyone around, but just like Damien, she can be VERY deadly if you threaten or harm anyone she loves. Being raised by monks in a monastery on the mountainside, Gwen is very religious to her people's beliefs, while being compassionate to everyone upon first meeting. Of course, she really doesn't appreciate it when people look down upon her skills, especially being labelled "weak" or "fragile". Gwen doesn't need to be heavily guarded, as she can show them that she is capable of fending for herself. Also, she tends to be very stubborn when trying to force people to listen to her.

 **Weapon & Fighting Style:** Weapon Name is the IceBorn (or IceBorne) Bow; a Dual Detachable Blade Bow (DDBB), also passed down from her family. Gwen can trace a line between the edges of the bow to create the bowstring when in battle. Similar to Cinder in a sense, she creates ice arrows that she can fire at her opponents to slow or freeze them, firing a volley of up to 10 arrows in rapid succession. She can detach the bow into a pair of curved blades, allowing her the option for close-range combat; although she does prefer fighting from a distance. She can even shoot a blizzard of ice from her hand too.

 **Semblance:** Her semblance allows her to summon giant ice-elemental knights when she can control with her hand. Her hand glows blue which allows the ice knight to stay under her command, and allow her to control the movements of it while moving her hand around. Each attack the ice knight makes contact with, it encases them in ice. Although her foes can attack the ice knight, they also freeze when they touch it. Gwen can also perform a desperation attack at the cost of a percentage of her aura, where she can make the ice knight explode, trapping all those around its radius in ice.

 **Character #4:**

 **Name & Height: **Neos Xanthos (Yellow); his height is 5'10".

 **Appearance:** He has blonde-spiked hair with a black Z-bolt design on each side of his head and long sideburns, with green eyes.

 **Outfit:** He wears a yellow vest with a small dark-yellow neck-scarf, with a black t-shirt whose sleeves are torn off to the shoulders, black pants with multiple zippers, black-and-yellow sneakers, and black fingerless gloves.

 **Personality:** Being an ex-rogue, Neos is a bit of a rough individual who also has a carefree attitude, easily falling asleep in classes most of the time. He also isn't afraid of the dangers that he faces ahead of him, thus sometimes recklessly rushing in without thinking of the repercussions. However, he has shown to have a considerable sense of wisdom when knowing how people are feeling. Whenever he sees people in a heated argument, he makes sure that he keeps himself, as well as any others away from them, to give them space when needed. Though he swore off thievery, he sometimes likes to joke around and pickpocket other people's possessions, but he does give them back immediately! Oh, and he really, REALLY loves his vest.

 **Weapon & Fighting Style:** Weapon name is the Claws of Mjolnir; a pair of Twin High-Voltage Claws (THVC), which can extend and retract from his gloves. They are a pair of thin razors which he can also charge up to deliver a strong shock to his opponents. Like Damien, he is also adept at close range, meaning that he also attack with punches and kicks. His signature move involves him jumping forward, while spinning quickly at his foes like a spinning drill. Though he sometimes charges at his opponents head-on, he is capable of coming up with ideas on the fly. Plus, his strength is high enough to actually block enemy charge-attacks with his bare hands!

 **Semblance:** His semblance allows him to create and channel lightning, which he is able to control thanks to his voltage claws. In addition, he is also able to gain strength from the lightning while being immune at the same time. He can redirect lightning to the sky where it can come crashing down on his opponents, or he can shoot lightning bolts directly at them. He can call lightning down to attract to his claws, thereby increasing his strength of his claws, and the shock he can deliver to his foes.

* * *

 **Phew, there you have it. This is the character info sheet for Team DRGN. Sorry that it took me forever to do this, I just never really got around to that until today. I kinda feel like moving this chapter to an earlier part of this story, but at the same time, I don't think it matters in the slightest. I know I didn't really explain much, or include any of their backstories, but that's only because I've already introduced them in earlier chapters, which means doing so would be redundant. Plus, I just wanted to keep things brief. Coming up with these four characters was fun, and I did have a little bit of help from the Official OC Thread on the RWBY Wiki, with a few changes every now and then.**

 **As for the inspirations for their fighting styles:  
\- Damien is based off of Zuko from The Last Airbender Series, as well as Captain Falcon  
\- Ryu is based off of Yasuo from League of Legends, and Lon'qu from Fire Emblem Awakening (Appearance wise).  
** **\- Gwen's weapon is based off Pit's bow from the Kid Icarus series, and her semblance is similar to Zelda's Down Special in Smash Bros.  
\- Neos is pretty much a mix between Thor and Wolverine.**

 **As for the actual chapter, I am busy studying for exams, so I'll post the next chapter later in the week. Let me know what you guys think of these characters, and I thank you for the wait if anyone was hoping to see this sort of thing. Alright, take care everyone!**


	28. Chapter 27: The Aftermath

**Greetings folks, I'm back with a new chapter. Here is the chapter showing off the last appearance of Lieutenant Ivan Stone, as we find out the result of what had happened. Also, Penny's here too, because, why not.**

* * *

Evening came, as the airship landed onto the Beacon grounds, they saw Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch waiting for them. "Welcome back, everyone. I trust the mission was a success?" Ozpin asked, as everyone exited the airship.

"I guess you could say that." Neos answered, while rubbing his head.

"Oh, and where is Lieutenant Stone? I was under the impression that he would be dropping you off?" Professor Goodwitch wondered, hoping to see her favourite student.

There was an awkward silence, before Yang decided to break the news to them. "Mr. Stone got in trouble for hiding this mission from General Ironwood, and now he's scheduled to appear before the Atlesian council first thing tomorrow morning."

Glynda was surprised with the revelation while Ozpin simply nodded. "I see."

Damien was curious as to why Ozpin was calm about this, so he decided to press for answers. "Say, Professor Ozpin? What kind of student was Lieutenant Stone like, before he graduated from Beacon?"

Ozpin looked towards the twelve students before he decided to answer. "Very well, Mr. Crimson. I'll explain in my office. Come with me, everyone." Everyone followed Ozpin and Goodwitch, while Elijah and Ellie waited by the airship.

Once everyone reached Ozpin's office, the headmaster sat down on his chair, and proceeded to explain. "You see, Mr. Stone was a very, very talent young man. He saw always studying hard, to become a Huntsman like he always dreamed of, wanting to bring justice and uphold the peace. After he graduated from Signal Academy, he was wondering what it truly meant to defend the people." Ozpin stated, while everyone listened carefully. "On his first day at Beacon Academy, he came towards me, and asked me the exact same question. I told him that he had to find the answers for himself, and he had to take it upon himself to do what's best."

"Well, that explains his strong sense of justice." Nora commented.

"So, what did Ivan do, once he graduated from Beacon?" Blake asked.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug, before continuing. "After Mr. Stone graduated from Beacon Academy, he wanted to continue finding answers. That's why he decided to enroll in Atlas Academy for one year, before he joined the Atlesian army."

"Hang on, if Lieutenant Stone wanted to continue learning answers, why did he even enlist in the first place?" Ryu asked.

"To this day, I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think he wants to bring justice by his own ways. Even if it means challenging the standards of the Atlesian Army." Ozpin theorized. "You see, children, sometimes, in order to protect everyone to your fullest extent, you will have to take matters into your own hands."

Everyone absorbed this information in as Ozpin smiled. "Actually, I do remember having a similar conversation with Mr. Stone earlier this morning."

 **Flashback (during Professor Port's class, Ozpin's office)**

Ozpin was looking outside the window while looking at the Atlesian airship landing, when Professor Goodwitch got his attention. "Excuse me sir, but Lieutenant Stone wishes to speak to you."

Ozpin turned around to face his assistant, intrigued. "Oh? What exactly is his reason?"

"I'm not sure, but he says it's very urgent." Glynda replied.

"Very well then. Send him in!" Ozpin stated, as she opened the door to let Ivan enter.

Ivan smiled, and bowed to Professor Goodwitch. "Thank you, Professor Goodwitch, and might I say, it's very nice to see you again."Glynda adjusted her glasses, while also having a small blush on her face, closing the door behind her. "Hello, Headmaster Ozpin, it's been a long time."

Ozpin chuckled, while addressing his former pupil. "Come now, Mr. Stone, no need for the formalities. So, to what do I owe this visit?"

Lieutenant Stone nodded and show Ozpin his report. "All right, I'll cut to the chase. I've been keeping track on the recent events on Mt. Garnet, and after a long search, I've finally found Victor Blaze!"

"Oh really? And what exactly is he doing there?" Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow.

The young Lieutenant continued as he spoke sternly. "We haven't entirely sorted out the full details yet, but he found him co-operating with the White Fang. It was only a few weeks ago that they raided the Atlesian base, so I know that whatever he planning, I have to put a stop to it, right here and now!"

"I see. Does James know about this?" Ozpin asked, narrowing his eyes.

Ivan shook his head. "No sir, I have not informed Ironwood about any of this. That is why I came here today." He faced the Headmaster, with a serious look. "I need to borrow your students for this excursion!"

Professor Goodwitch butted in, sounding very surprised about this. "Hold on a minute! Why do you need to borrow out students?! Can't you rely on your fellow soldiers?"

"I'm afraid I cannot, Ms. Goodwitch. I'm certain that they would inform General Ironwood about this. Besides, I've heard many remarkable things about these twelve students in particular. This is exactly the reason I need their help for this. Please Ozpin, I ask you for your help!" Ivan asked.

"Interesting." Ozpin remarked, before getting up from his chair. "Before I give tell you my decision, answer me this. What exactly do you plan to do once you confront Mr. Blaze? Will you follow your Atlesian duties and incarcerate him, or will you let your emotions get the better of you."

Lieutenant Stone thought carefully, before answering. "I do not know, sir. But regardless of what happens, I will do whatever it takes to stop him. After all, I haven't forgotten what you've told me on my first day at Beacon."

Ozpin smiled, and nodded. "All right, consider it done. I will lend you the help of my students." He turned towards Professor Goodwitch. "Glynda, could you please bring Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN to my office?"

Professor Goodwitch nodded. "Yes sir. Right away!" She replied, as she exited his office.

"Thank you very much, Professor Ozpin! I assure you that I will take full responsibility for what happens here." Ivan smiled.

 **Back to the Present Time…**

After Ozpin finished his story, all three teams were stunned by Lieutenant Stone's history. "So, you see. Despite Mr. Stone's following the same standards as all Atlesian soldiers, his strong sense of justice never died down. He proved to be a huge role model for all aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses everywhere." He turned to face the Atlesian airship still parked outside. "Anyways, Ironwood told me that you are welcome to attend Mr. Stone's hearing tomorrow. Is that really what you wish to do?"

Everyone nodded, as Ruby spoke up. "Of course. Ivan's a Huntsman, just like the rest of us. And we have to make sure to support him!"

Ozpin smiled, as he pulled out his scroll. "So be it. I'll notify General Ironwood to arrange transportation for all of you. It will be arriving here tomorrow at 7:00 am sharp, so I suggest you all get some shut-eye." He replied, as everyone turned in for the night.

The next morning, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN were all dressed up, and waiting outside on the campus grounds, per usual. Ozpin greeted them, as the Atlesian airship from yesterday arrived to pick them all up.

Ellie stepped out of the airship to open the doors. "Hello everyone. I'm so glad you've decided to show your support to Lieutenant Stone. Please, right this way!" As all twelve got on board, the airship doors closed, as Ellie and Elijah flew the airship all the way back to Atlas. Once the airship landed in Atlas Army HQ, they were all escorted to the Altas Council's building. "We have arrived at our destination!"

Everyone was in complete awe as they all beheld the sight. "Wow! I can't believe we're actually inside the Atlas council's building!" Gwen commented.

"It's truly wonderful, isn't it?" Weiss said. "I remember when my sister, Winter, would bring me here when I was a child!"

"Man, the security is so tight around here, not even a mouse could sneak in or out!" Neos mumbled.

"Well, this is the Atlas Army we're talking about here." Damien reminded him.

As everyone continued their walk, they were greeted by a familiar voice. "RUBY!" Everyone turned around to see Ruby being tackled into a tight hug by none other than Penny.

"Guh! H-hi Penny." Ruby tried to breathe, before her friend let her up. Several months ago, Ruby learned that Penny was a robot designed by a mysterious Atlas inventor, but she still accepted Penny for who she was, as well as everyone else. Penny was so overjoyed to be reunited with her closest friends.

"Salutations friends, it's so sensational to see you all again!" Penny bowed, while keeping her cheerful demeanor.

"So Penny, what are you doing here?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, I'm just here on a little trip with some of my father's friends." Penny smiled. "What about you guys?"

"We're here to attend Lieutenant Stone's hearing." Yang answered.

"Oh, you mean that blonde soldier. I heard he's really, REALLY, talented." Penny said, before turning to a frown. "Wait, why is he in trouble exactly?"

Everyone struggled to tell Penny the story, so Damien decided to speak up. "It's a long story. No need to worry."

"Well, okay. If you insist Damien." Penny thought for a moment, before she thought of something. "Say, mind if I tag along with everybody?"

The three teams looked towards Elijah and Elliot, who nodded back, before Ruby answered. "Sure Penny, you can come with us!"

"Fantastic!" Penny cheered, as everyone continued their trek. As they reached the council's hearing room, Elijah and Ellie reminded everyone to keep quiet, as the hearing was about to start.

General Ironwood and Lieutenant Stone greeted everyone, as the two Atlas officers walked to the front, while everyone else sat in the stands. The doors opened, as three members of the Atlesian council showed up, and sat down in their quarters.

"Settle down, everyone! The hearing for Lieutenant Ivan Stone shall now commence!" The first council member ordered, as he banged his gavel. "Lieutenant Stone, we have called you here today because we have found out that you have withheld vital information from the Atlesian Army, regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Victor Blaze!"

The second council stood up as she added. "In addition, you have also been found guilty of dragging twelve students from Beacon Academy onto this dangerous mission; something which you had absolutely no authority to do!"

Everyone from the stands looked worried, as the third council member spoke. "Before us here today, we will be deciding whether or not to dismiss you from the Atlesian Army!" He stated. "Before we cast our votes, is there anything you wish to say in your defence?"

Ivan got up and looked back at everyone, who smiled reassuringly, while Ironwood nodded. Mr. Stone smiled, and started to explain. "Yes I would. Ladies and gentlemen, I know that I acted out of my standards to pursue this criminal by my own accord. However, I was still following by my vows to the Atlesian Army, as well as my duties as a Huntsman! Mr. Blaze had attacked me first, when he knocked me unconscious, and stolen some valuable equipment for his own dastardly deeds. Therefore, I did not wish to stand by and allow him to wreak havoc onto Vale!" He concluded by facing the council members with a serious look. "Regardless of what may happen, I will always continue to pursue the answers, and do whatever it takes to ensure the peace and safety for all of Remnant!"

There was a moment of silence, as the first councilmen spoke up. "I see. Very well, we will now discuss the actions that will be taken. If everyone could please wait outside the room, we will call you back in approximately one hour!"

After one hour had passed, everyone made their way back into the board room. The first Atlesian council member rose and passed down judgement. "Mr. Stone, after careful thought and consideration, seeing as you have managed to capture Mr. Blaze while no one has ever been able obtain any lead; we have decided not to dismiss you from the Atlesian Army!" Everyone cheered, before the board silenced the room. "However, we cannot overlook this violation, of hiding information, from you. Henceforth, we will be demoting you down a rank immediately!"

Everyone groaned, while Major Stone bowed. "I understand."

"With that said, this meeting is adjourned!" After the lead councilman banged his gavel, everyone exited the room.

As Ivan and General Ironwood left the room, all three teams, including Elijah, Ellie, and Penny ran up to him. "Lieutenant Stone – I mean, Major Stone, sorry about getting demoted." Ruby said sheepishly.

Ivan chuckled. "That's quite all right, Miss Rose. I was aware of the risks, and I still took responsibility."

"Sir…" Elijah frowned, as he and Ellie saluted their boss.

"Come now, you two. I'm not your boss right now. Even so, I want to apologize for putting you both through this." Major Stone nodded.

Ellie saluted, and stated proudly. "That doesn't matter, we will continue to serve you, sir!"

Penny remembered something. "Are they going to be in trouble too?"

General Ironwood showed up, answering her question. "Rest assured Miss Polendina. Seeing as Mr. Stone pledged to take full responsibility for their actions, I'll let them off with a warning." He turned to his fallen comrade. "I must say, Mr. Stone, I'm disappointed that it had to come to this. But even so, I know you'll be able to rise back in the ranks. In fact, I actually do plan on having you lead the army once I retire!" He smiled, as Major Stone saluted his boss.

"Thank you, General Ironwood! I promise I will not fail your expectations." He bowed.

Ironwood nodded, as he faced everyone else. "I need to get going now. Mr. Stone, if you wish to show everybody back to Beacon, you may!"

Ivan nodded. "Gladly sir! Come on, let's get going!" Everyone waved goodbye to General Ironwood and Penny, as they prepared for the long ride back to Beacon Academy. After the airship landed, everyone exited the vehicle as they saw Ozpin and Glynda waiting per usual.

"Welcome back, everyone! I'm glad everything worked out just fine!" Ozpin greeted the crowd.

"Well, not exactly…" Jaune mumbled, before Ivan stopped and assured him.

"Don't worry, Mr. Arc, what's done is done, and I assure you, I'm perfectly fine." He stated.

Professor Goodwitch nodded, while having a small smile on her face. "Mr. Stone, I must say, it is good to see you again."

"Likewise, Ms. Goodwitch." He greeted her, as he turned back to Ozpin. "I wish I could stay longer, but I have to get back to work."

"I understand." He simply replied.

"Before I go, I'll just say this. You have a truly spectacular group of students, Mr. Ozpin, and I know that they will get far in life. Just as long as they make sure to never forget what they learn here, and to always keep the bonds that tie them together!"

He smiled to the three teams, as he bid everyone farewell. Everyone waved goodbye, as Major Stone, Elijah, and Ellie took off in the airship. Despite what had happened, Ivan Stone always continued to remain an inspiration; both to all training Huntsmen and Huntresses, and to all adults.

* * *

 **There you have it, I hope you enjoyed that. Now, I wasn't entirely 100% sure if Ruby had ever told anyone about Penny being a robot, but if she did, then I am certain they wouldn't mind one bit. Also, I was trying to find out the next rank below Lieutenant, and after some thought, I want with Major. Anywho, this marks the last time we see of Major Ivan Stone.**

 **Speaking of which; I suppose I should respond to a review from Nab2425. The truth is, I honestly did not realize of the Blake/Weiss pairing until it was too late. Sorry to any Checkmate fans out there, but I am not a shipper of these two. I kind of put them together only because they were the only ones who weren't paired. Also for my own created pairs, if you really want a name, then let's see... Ruby/Neos = Lightning Rose; Ryu/Gwen = Flash Freeze; and Damien/Yang = Crimson Gold. There ya go! Secondly, I know my story isn't too dark. The thing is, every time I want to try and be deep and compelling, it just ends up being too complicated. That, or maybe I'm just a big softie, so regardless, I don't really want to be dark. Of course, Finally, I don't Ryu and Gwen have not gotten much attention; I can assure you, there will be a chapter that focuses on these two coming very soon, so stick around.**

 **Peace!**


	29. Chapter 28: A Blast From The Past

**Hello everybody. I'm so thankful for 3,800 views, and for all the follows and favourites on this story. This chapter is gonna focus on one of Damien's old family friends coming back into his life. I originally had a completely different idea, that was dark yet deep at the same time, however I cancelled it because once again, it was too complicated and it would have made things too confusing. Anyways... enjoy!**

* * *

It was a pleasant day at Beacon Academy. Students were relaxing outside the Campus quad, some catching up on some studying, while some relaxed in the tranquility. The large group of twelve were enjoying the day away.

Ruby and Neos were relaxing underneath a tree, with Neos lying on the trunk while Ruby rested her head on his shoulders. Blake, Ren, Ryu, and Gwen were holding a reading circle, with Weiss struggling to keep Nora from interrupting. Pyrrha was continuing to train Jaune, with him actually managing to keep his mentor on her toes. Finally, Yang and Damien were having a friendly sparring match, which ended in yet another draw.

After Yang tackled Damien to the ground, the two of them chuckled before their lips met. "Man, this day is so beautiful…" Yang stared at the crimson haired lad's eyes.

Damien smiled, as he put his hand on his girlfriend's cheek. "Tell me about it. I don't know how it could get any better."

"My, my. The day sure does bring wonders. Right, Mr. Crimson?" The two looked up to see Ozpin staring at them.

The two blushed, as they quickly scrambled from the ground. "Uh, P-Professor Ozpin! What are you doing here?" Damien stammered.

Ozpin chuckled, as he took a sip from his mug as always. "There's someone here to see you in my office. A young, female friend of yours I believe."

Damien gulped nervously, when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Yang grinning menacingly, with her eyes glowing red, and hair ablaze. "Oh really? You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend before!"

"Y-Y-Yang, it's not what it looks like! Honest!" Damien tried to assure her, as she dragged the poor boy to Ozpin's office, with everyone following close behind to get a glimpse of the possible catfight.

As everyone made it to Ozpin's office, they opened the door, and were completely surprised to see Professor Goodwitch standing beside a little girl. The young girl appeared to be seven years old, with bright limestone coloured eyes, and maroon coloured hair that was tied in pigtails with pink ribbons. She wore a dark green jacket, with a yellow-and-black striped shirt, blue shorts, and was clutching a little doll. The biggest trait she had was the dark red cat tail, indicating that she was a cat Faunus, just like Blake.

"Mindy?" Damien asked, to the little girl clinging on Glynda's arm.

The little girl saw Damien, and ran towards him. "DAMIEN!" She screamed, as Damien crouched down to hug the little girl.

Yang was completely surprised, as her eyes were giving off a blank stare.

"Heh, bet you didn't see that coming, did ya?" Neos joked, as Yang faced him with red eyes. The ex-rogue backed up. "Hey, it wasn't me. He said it!" He fibbed, as he quickly pointed towards Jaune.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Jaune panicked when he saw what he was being pointed at.

Before a ruckus could break, Blake decided to ask. "Damien, who is this child?"

Damien looked upwards, as he decided to introduce her. "Oh yeah. Everyone, this is my cousin, Mindy Maroon! Mindy, I want you to meet my friends." Mindy was too shy to look, but Damien held her hand and assured her. "Don't worry, I promise, they're all wonderful people. Don't be shy." Mindy peeked, as she held Damien's hand tightly.

He smiled, as he introduced everyone. "You already know Neos, and this is Ryu, Gwen, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and, my lovely girlfriend, Yang!"

Everyone awed as they crowded around the small girl, while Mindy tightened the grip on Damien's hand. "Aww, she's such a cutie!" Yang cooed.

"Yang, you're scaring her!" Weiss scolded. "But she's so adorable!" She spoke, in baby talk.

"She's seven years old! She's not a baby." Ryu reminded her.

"Hi there, young one. No need to be shy." Ren whispered quietly.

"You can trust us. We're Damien's good friends." Pyrrha assured, in a motherly voice, which attracted Mindy to her. Pyrrha picked her up, and held her in her arms. "Damien, she's such a sweetheart. How do you know her?"

Damien chuckled, as he rubbed the back of his head. "She's the daughter of an old family friend of mine. Her mother and mine are sisters." He stopped and thought for a minute. "Wait a minute, where is your mother?"

"Yeah, does Lydia know about this?" Neos wondered as well.

Mindy's eyes widened, as tears started to form up. "M-Mommy's dead! WAAAAAAAH!" She cried as Pyrrha rocked her gently, while Yang took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears away.

Ozpin spoke up, to clarify on this matter. "Yes. We did some looking into, and we found out her mother passed away very recently. We actually found the poor child wandering the streets alone, until she fainted right in front of our Campus."

Everyone was shocked when they heard that. "Wait, you mean she traveled through Vale? ALL BY HERSELF?!" Ruby shouted.

"It would seem that way. Her uncle will be arriving tomorrow, all the way from Mistral, to pick her up." Ozpin continued.

"Hold on. What about her father?" Gwen asked. "Isn't he there to look after her?"

Damien shook his head. "Her father died years ago. She's an only child, so she had no other siblings."

"We can contact any other relatives to look after her in the meantime." Ozpin offered.

Damien pondered, before looking to see Mindy enjoying herself, with everyone around her. He smiled and addressed him. "Actually sir, would it be all right if Mindy spent the day with us?"

Ozpin smiled, and nodded. "By all means, Mr. Crimson. I'd be happy to allow that. Professor Goodwitch, I believe we have a toffee piece in the cabinet!"

"Of course sir." Professor Goodwitch nodded, as she handed the candy to the little girl. "Here you go, little girl."

"Yay, thanks, Miss Goodwitch!" Mindy bowed, as Glynda smiled and nodded.

Damien walked over to Mindy, as Pyrrha set her down. "All right, Mindy. Today you're spending the day with us!"

Mindy's eyes shined, when she heard that. "You mean I get to play with you?"

Damien smiled as he tussled her hair. "That's right!"

"Yay! Playtime with Dami!" She cheered.

Neos burst out laughing, when he heard the nickname. "Pfft! DAMI?!" He stopped, when he saw Damien glaring at him. "Again, it was him who said it. Not me!" He pointed towards Jaune again.

"Aw, come on!" Jaune whined.

"All right, come on, Mindy. We'll show you around." He said, while he picked Mindy up, and gave her a piggy-back ride. "I hope it's all right with everyone if I bring Mindy along with us."

Everyone nodded, as Yang put a hand on Damien's shoulder. "Of course, Damien. Besides, I do love this nurturing side of you, very much." She smiled, as she kissed his cheek. "Hey there, Mindy, I'm Dami's girlfriend!" She smiled towards Mindy, while Damien groaned at the nickname.

"You're Yang, right? You're pretty…" She smiled, before she whined as Yang pinched her cheeks.

"Easy there, Yang! You'll bruise her cheeks if you keep doing that!" Ruby scolded, speaking from experience. Everyone exited out of Ozpin's office.

The three teams proceeded down the campus halls, with Mindy riding on Damien's shoulders. As they walked, students couldn't help but feel warm when they saw the little Faunus girl in their presence. Eventually, they all made it to the cafeteria.

After settling down, Damien allowed Mindy to sit on his lap, while Yang offered her a carton of milk, and Blake sharing some tuna with her fellow cat Faunus. Ruby and Nora couldn't help but coo at the little girl, with Neos and Ren trying to keep them away from her.

Soon, they are joined by their old friend, Velvet. "Hello everyone!" The rabbit Faunus greeted, before turning her attention to the little girl. "Oh, and who's this little lady over here?"

"Oh yeah. Velvet, I want you to meet my little cousin, Mindy Maroon!" Damien introduced.

"Hi Velvet!" Mindy waved to the smiling Faunus.

Velvet giggled as she held her hand. "Damien, she's so cute! I didn't know you had a cousin."

Everyone smiled as the lunch bell rang. Before everyone could get up, Pyrrha remembered something. "Wait, what do we do about Mindy?"

"Oh yeah. I don't think Professor Goodwitch would appreciate bringing any unwanted guests during her classes." Jaune added.

Everyone pondered for a moment, before Velvet spoke up. "I can look after her in the meantime. I'm sure me and my team would be happy to do so."

Damien happily bowed. "Oh, thank you, Velvet! I really appreciate it." Damien turned to Mindy. "Now Mindy. I want you to go with Velvet while we attend class. Is that okay with you?" Mindy smiled and nodded, before Damien turned her over to Velvet and Team CFVY.

"Aww, don't worry little Mindy. We'll be back as soon as possible." Ruby patted the little girl, before they headed to class.

After it ended, the three teams exited the lecture hall, where Velvet was panicking near a crying Mindy. "WAAAAH!" Mindy sobbed.

"What happened?!" Yang asked, as the group of twelve comforted the girl, with Pyrrha and Yang holding the weeping girl.

"It's Cardin!" Velvet explained. "He and Team CRDL approached us, and started picking on her! Coco and the others showed up to intervene, but Cardin took her doll!"

"WHAT?!" Damien growled. "CARDIN…!" He dashed outside the campus, to pursue Team CRDL. Everyone was shocked to see him dash so fast, as they followed after the fuming teen.

Damien stormed out of the campus, as he saw Team CRDL laughing malevolently. "CARDIIIIIIIIN!" He roared as he charged towards the team.

Team CRDL turned to see what the commotion, as Damien had already tackled Cardin to the ground, pinning him to the ground, and twisting his arm behind him. Cardin gritted through the pain, as his teammates looked on in surprise. "OW! What the hell's your deal?!"

"My deal is that you think it's a good idea to pick on the Faunus, especially MY COUSIN!" Damien yelled into his ear. Russel, Dove, and Sky were about to attack him, but one demonic glare from the crimson haired lad caused them to back away in fear.

The group approached the quad, as they were surprised to see Damien torturing Cardin. "Now, unless you value your arm, I suggest you return the doll at once!"

Cardin whimpered, as everyone else approached the two, trying to calm Damien down. "I don't have it! I-I-I… threw it into the Emerald Forest…"

Damien was shocked when he heard that, before his face contorted back into anger. "WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU?!" He increased the pressure onto Cardin's arm, as he started to scream out in pain. Eventually, Damien grabbed the intimidated boy's collar, as his fist was engulfed in flames.

The whole campus swarmed around the group, before Ozpin and Goodwitch broke up the fight. "Young man, what is the meaning of this brutality?" Ozpin asked.

Damien got up and explained the dilemma to the two professors. "Cardin here was picking on my cousin, and he threw her doll in the Emerald Forest!"

Goodwitch apprehended Cardin and Damien, as she started to scold them. "Mr. Winchester, how many times have I told you to not discriminate against your fellow classmates?! And Mr. Crimson, what makes you think you can inflict physical harm against one another?!"

Damien's anger continued to increase, as his eyes were glowing red with anger. "Are you kidding me?! Cardin's the bully here, and all I did was try and defend!" Damien's entire body erupted in fire, as all students, including Team CRDL ran for cover from the rage that Damien was radiating. Even Goodwitch was surprised, as she stepped away from the crimson haired lad.

"D-Damien?!" Ruby stammered.

"Whoa dude, just calm down!" Jaune tried to assure. "Let's not do anything we might regret…"

Damien roared from the top of his lungs, as even his voice sounded somewhat demonic. "Nobody messes with my cousin like that! NOBODY!"

Everyone was scared of what they saw, as Damien was blazing with fury. However, Yang slowly walked towards Damien with her eyes red as well. She stood in front of him and pulled Damien into a tight embrace.

"Yang! What are you doing?!" Ruby shouted, as she tried to stop her sister, but Neos pulled her back.

"Don't! It's too dangerous!" Neos stated.

"B-but what about…" She was about to explain, but Neos smiled and assured her that things would be okay.

As Yang held onto Damien, with her eyes tearing up a bit, Damien's eyes started to twitch, as tears started to fall from his face too. Eventually, the flames died down, as Damien shut his eyes, and started to limp.

"Damien!" Yang shouted, as he and Neos ran over to help him up.

Damien stood up on his feet, as he saw everyone staring at him. "I'm… so sorry, everyone…" He stammered. "I didn't mean to let my anger get the best of me..." He stated, as he sounded like he was about to cry.

Quickly, Yang tightened her hug as she softly whispered into Damien's ear. "Shh, it's all going to be all right. I promise." She assured him, while tears were flowing on her face. Damien sobbed gently into Yang's shoulder, while Yang did the same.

"Wow, I never expected Yang to be so adamant and nurturing at the same time like that…" Ryu said.

Ruby smiled, as she folded her arms. "Yup. Yang's always been the strong and caring type. When we were young, Yang would always comfort me in the exact same way whenever I felt angry or upset…" She explained, as Neos held her soothingly. Everyone was relieved as the two calmed down.

Damien wiped his eyes, before bowing apologetically to the professors. "My apologies, I didn't mean to snap…"

Ozpin smiled, and nodded. "That's quite alright, Mr. Crimson. We all get worked up for the sake of those we hold dear to us." He took a sip, before continuing. "And before you ask, I give you permission to go to the Emerald Forest to retrieve your cousin's doll."

Yang asked. "Is it all right if I go with him?"

Ozpin nodded. "Of course, Ms. Xiao Long. But be warned you two, the Grimm can be quite vicious during the evening, so I advise you to be quick about it."

Damien and Yang nodded, as they got their weapons ready. The rest of the group stayed to watch over Mindy, who was worried for the two fighters, who went through the dangers, for her sake.

"Don't worry, little one. Everything's going to be all right." Pyrrha patted the young Faunus.

"Yeah, Damien and Yang will get your doll back. They're tough as nails!" Nora added.

Mindy wiped away the tears on her face, before smiling. "Yeah, Dami and Yangy are strong!" Everyone smiled back, as they all waited outside, while the two professors entered.

Meanwhile, in the Emerald Forest, while Damien and Yang were looking for Mindy's doll, Yang decided to take the opportunity to ask what was on her mind. "So Damien, about what happened back there…"

"Um, can we talk about it later?" Damien asked, hoping to steer clear for now, but he knew she wouldn't drop it.

"Come on, Damien, please. I've never seen you get so emotional like that!" She said, causing him to stop in his tracks. "Please, if something's hurting you, you can tell me."

Damien sighed, before facing her. "All right, Yang. I'll tell you. The thing about me is, I was never always the strong type. Back when I was a child, I was the weaker one, who was constantly getting shoved by other kids, due to my half-Faunus trait. In fact, whenever I saw others like me being tormented, I was too powerless to do anything."

"I see." Yang said sincerely, as she continued to listen. "So, seeing how Cardin bullying Mindy like that must have brought up painful memories."

"This feeling of weakness reached its tipping point when I… saw my mother killed in front of my own eyes!" He spoke, with a heavy heart when he tried to recall that painful moment. Yang was shocked when she heard that. "At that moment, I didn't care about feeling weak, and I was about to dash towards her killer, preparing to do whatever it takes!"

"Whoa! So how did you survive?!" Yang asked, dying to know what happened next.

"Thankfully, my father stopped me from rushing into my own death! Though he scolded me for being so rash, he knew the pain and suffering I went through. That is why he decided to train me to become strong! After my training, I came across the same group of bullies who tormented me in the past as they were picking on my cousin, and I was tempted to punch them right through their skulls!" Damien shook his fist in anger, before taking a deep breath. "However, I knew that if I did, I would be no better. Instead, I gave them a taste of the pain that they brought me, and I made them swear to never come near me or my cousin ever again!"

Yang was relieved to hear that things didn't escalate as they would have originally intended to be. "I see. So, that's why you're always so eager to help someone in need."

Damien smiled, and nodded. "Of course. Seeing as I was once weak to defend myself, I wanted to help those who were in that same situation. That's why I gave Mindy that doll; as a reminder to always stay strong, no matter what happens." His face took a serious look. "No matter what happens, I will always do whatever it takes to help those who need it!"

Yang felt like shedding tears of joy, as she walked towards Damien, and cupped her hand onto Damien's cheek. "You know something, Damien? You are truly the kindest, strongest, and most caring person I have ever had the fortune of meeting." The two smiled, as their eyes met. "Well, then I promise you, that no matter what happens, I will always stand by your side."

"Thank you, Yang. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful girlfriend such as yourself." Damien whispered, as the two shared a long, passionate kiss.

After breaking away, Yang spoke up. "Now then, let's go find that doll." After looking forward, they spotted it nearby a giant Ursa. "Look! There it is!" Before the Ursa could hold it in its mouth, Yang fired a blast from Ember Celica, while her eyes glowed red. "Back away from the doll!"

The Ursa turned its attention to the two brawlers, but it was swiftly defeated when Yang and Damien punched through the Ursa's chest. After retrieving the doll, the two exited out of the Emerald Forest. As everyone waited outside the campus, they were happy to see Damien and Yang emerging, with the doll in hand.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Jaune cheered.

"And you got the doll too!" Neos added.

"Yup, sure did. Thanks to Yang!" Damien smiled towards his girlfriend.

"Oh please, I couldn't have done it without your help!" She smiled, as she punched his shoulder. She then walked over to Mindy, and handed the doll back to her. "Here you go, Mindy."

Mindy squealed, as she hugged her doll, and then hugged Yang. "Yay! Thank you both so much!"

Damien laughed, before sighing. "Listen guys, I wanna apologize deeply for losing my temper back there."

"Don't sweat it, Damien. You were only trying to help your cousin, and that's what really matters!" Ruby motioned.

"I guess, but even so…" Damien was about to explain, but Weiss put her hand out to stop.

"Relax Damien. We know all about the lengths you're willing to go through to help those who can't help themselves." The heiress pointed out.

Damien was surprised when he heard that, to which Blake added. "Neos told us about your past back there. We had no idea how much it means to you."

Ryu nodded. "Regardless, you've shown that you are truly the most compassionate person in all of Remnant."

"No matter what happens, you are always our friend Damien. We'll always stick together, as one!" Pyrrha stated.

Damien smiled, as he closed his eyes. "Thank you everyone. This means so much to me. I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends."

Everyone went "Aww" before Neos decided to spoil it. "All right, that's enough mushiness for one day. I think it's time we all turn in for the night!"

As everyone turned in for the night, Mindy tugged Damien's sleeve. "Dami, is it all right if I sleep with Yang tonight?"

Damien turned to see if Yang was all right with it, to which she nodded. "Sure Mindy." He smiled as he handed his cousin over to his girlfriend.

Everyone entered their respective dorms, as they all got a good night's sleep. The next morning, all three teams waited outside the Beacon gates, where they saw a tall, blue haired man drive up beside them. He exited his vehicle, where he hugged his niece. "Hello there, Mindy! My, you've grown a lot!"

He turned to the three teams, and then hugged Damien. "Damien, my boy. It's been so long!"

Damien hugged his uncle back. "Hi, Uncle Sapphire. It's good to see you again."

He turned to the three teams. "And you all must be Damien's friends! Uncle Carl Sapphire here. I wanna thank you all for looking after my dear little niece. I can assure you, I'll be taking her back to my home in Mistral, where my kids are looking forward to seeing Mindy."

Mindy walked up to Damien, and embraced him. "Thank you for everything, Damien."

Damien held her while everyone else crowded around her, and gently whispered. "Of course, Mindy. Just remember that you are never alone. We'll always support you."

Mindy smiled, as she got into the car with uncle Sapphire, as they waved good-bye to her.

Yang smiled, as she kissed Damien's cheek. "You really are such a sweetheart, Damien." She smiled toward him.

The crimson haired lad smiled back, as he returned his girlfriend's kiss. "Thanks Yang. You're sweet too."

Neos chuckled as he tussled their hair. "Aww, there goes Dami and Yangy being all lovey-dovey again!" He grinned, as the two fighters glared towards him. "HE SAID IT!" He pointed towards Jaune again.

"DUDE!" Jaune barked.

Neos dashed away, with Damien and Yang chasing after him. "Aw come on! Can't you guys take a joke?!" He yelled, as he ran from his pursuers. Everyone else laughed before heading back into the academy.

* * *

 **There you go, another chapter done. If anyone remembers from the first chapter, that's where I gave an extremely small introduction to Mindy. Small note here, while Yang is usually depicted as the mother figure of the group, I personally see Pyrrha fitting that role much better; Yang would be the cool older sister that she already is. Now, I know I haven't given Ryu and Gwen a lot of attention, but don't worry! The next chapter is going to have them as the main focus, so you can bet it will be something to remember. Anyways, take care!**


	30. Chapter 29: A Day Out in the Town

**Greeting ladies and gentlemen, I'm back with yet another chapter. This is the chapter I'm certain that most readers have been wanting to see for a very long time. This chapter is where Ryu and Gwen finally get some more attention over Damien and Neos. Seeing as I had written them as spending most of the time with Team JNPR, I thought it would be a good idea to roll with that, and show off how exactly they spend their day. I kind of felt inspired by a celebration of Chinese New Year a few months ago.**

* * *

Saturday morning showed up rather quickly, as Team DRGN was up and ready for what the day held in store for them. "Ah, so what's the plan for today?" Damien asked his teammates.

"Well, Jaune and Pyrrha have plans with Ren and Nora, and they asked us to join them." Ryu stated.

"So… a triple date? Has that ever been done before?" Neos joked around.

"Well, that's what Nora's calling it, though Ren keeps explaining it's mutual." Gwen tried to explain. "But even so, they do make such a cute couple!"

"Well, that sounds swell. Me and Damien can always hang out with our gals, as well as Weiss and Blake." Neos said.

Damien chuckled before thinking of something. "You know, it's weird how we keep more spending time with others, rather than as a team."

"Aw come on, it's perfectly normal." Neos waved off. "I mean sure, you and me spend more time with Team RWBY…" He addressed Damien, before turning towards Ryu and Gwen. "And the two of you spend more time with Team JNPR…" He turned to face the team. "…But even so, we strengthen our bonds between the three teams and between the twelve of us. And in the end, we'll always maintain them!"

Everyone nodded, before Ryu spoke. "Well said, Neos. You know, perhaps we should all do something together later on tonight."

"That sounds like a good idea!" Gwen agreed before sharing a kiss with Ryu.

Damien smiled. "Wow, I never expected you two to get so close so quickly. The chemistry between you is just as strong between me and Yang!"

"Yeah, but me and Ruby have the strongest relationship!" Neos shouted. "No offense…"

There was a brief pause, before the four of them broke out in a laugh. After exiting their dorm, Damien and Neos entered Team RWBY's dorm, while Gwen and Ryu waited outside the quad.

After a moment, they were greeted by Team JNPR, with Nora holding Ren's arm while skipping with joy. "Hey guys, are you excited for our triple date?!"

"Nora, I keep telling you, this is a normal outing." Ren calmly stated, while having a small blush on his face.

Gwen giggled, before giving a small hug to Pyrrha. "Hello Pyrrha, I'm so glad you suggested this!"

Pyrrha smiled back, after returning the hug. "Thank you Gwen. I figured me and Jaune could use a break from training, and when Nora asked if she and Ren could tag along, I figured we'd invite you too."

Jaune smiled, before giving a quick kiss to Pyrrha. "Well, she's always coming up with wonderful ideas!" He exclaimed, causing the gladiator to blush madly and return the kiss.

Ren smiled, before asking. "So, what shall we do today?"

Pyrrha regained her composure before answering his question. "Well, seeing as downtown Vale is holding a small celebration for the upcoming Vytal Tournament Festival, I figured it would be a good idea to if we could explore it." She explained as everyone nodded in agreement.

As the six reached Downtown Vale, they could see the streets decorated with banners and lanterns hung up on the buildings, with a lot of huts set up, such as a noodle stand. There was even a large Eastern dragon statue placed on top of a giant restaurant, which caught everyone's attention.

Team JNPR, as well as Ryu and Gwen all entered the restaurant to have some lunch. There was an assortment of sushi, mini cakes, dumplings, and many other foods in the buffet to enjoy. After everyone finished eating their noodles, Ryu crossed his arms and smiled contently, Gwen put her head on Ryu's shoulder while enjoying a mini cake, Jaune was gushing over a dumpling that Pyrrha was feeding him, Ren stretched his arms, and Nora let out a big belch, which caused most of the patrons to face her before turning back.

"My goodness, I haven't enjoyed a meal like that since back home." Ryu commented.

"I know right?! Oh, those mini-cakes were to hammer for!" Nora cheered.

"Well, I hope you all saved room for fortune cookies!" The waitress motioned as she laid a small tray with the bill. Pyrrha, Ren, and Ryu all pitched in to pay the bill, as well as leaving a generous tip. "Thank you very much!" The waitress smiled and bowed. "And by the way, there's a play happening later on about the Great War, in commemoration of the Vytal Festival."

"Oh, the Great War Re-enactment! That sounds absolutely wonderful! My father loved to take me to these plays every time!" Gwen cheered.

"Indeed, I also remember attending it with my brothers." Ryu added.

"Well then, how about we all go watch?" Jaune pointed out.

"Sounds like a good idea." Ryu smiled, wrapping his arm around Gwen.

Gwen giggled while she held Ryu. "Oh Ryu. To think I could be so lucky to have a kind and protective man like yourself."

Ryu blushed while giving a light chuckle. "Well, I remember what you said the first time we met; that we share a strong connection. Even so, I never would have imagined it would have turned out something like this." He paused before giving a warm smile to Gwen. "Regardless, I'm glad to have such a strong, sweet girl such as you, Gwen."

Gwen was shocked, but smiled deeply, eyes filled with tears of joy. "Ryu, thank you…" The white-haired archer leaned towards the blue-haired swordsman, as they shared a warm and tender kiss, while Team JNPR watched in joy.

"Awwwwwww… so cute!" Nora gushed, while tightly holding Ren. Ren tried to struggle, but he didn't mind.

"I have to admit, you two care so much for each other, that it's absolutely astounding!" Pyrrha smiled. "If it wasn't for you, I would have never found the courage to tell Jaune my true feelings!" The young Spartan blushed while resting her head on Jaune's shoulder.

Jaune blushed, but smiled as he held Pyrrha close to him. "Yeah. And I would have never realized my true feelings for her."

It was during the Beacon Academy dance. Jaune was so hell-bent on asking Weiss to the dance, that we never realized how Pyrrha was always the girl who was meant for him. Thankfully, Gwen was able to give Pyrrha the courage to tell Jaune her true feelings, while Ryu helped Jaune move on from Weiss and opened his eyes to what was painfully obvious in front of him. Even though Jaune still went through with his word on wearing a dress, Pyrrha didn't mind at all, and to their teammates and friends' joy, they finally confessed their true feelings for each other.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head, while sheepishly looking towards Pyrrha. "Looking back on it, I still feel foolish for not realizing it sooner…"

Before he could continue, Pyrrha pulled Jaune closed to her lips, while the two shared a tender moment. "Better late than never, right?"

Jaune smiled like a madman, while trying to regain his composure. "Y-yeah…"

"Well, now that this show of affection has reached its peak, how about we all head to the park?" Ren smiled.

"Sounds good to me." Ryu nodded, as the six of them exited the restaurant. After reaching the park, they could see lots of people from all four different Kingdoms sitting on blankets. After the six of them found a spot, Pyrrha pulled out a large sheet where they all sat together. They also noticed a few camera crew workers setting up the camera, to broadcast the show live.

After the stage curtains opened, a stage head walked towards the centre and greeted the applauding audience. "Greetings everyone, and welcome to our re-enactment of the Great War! As you all know, this conflict was the result of the different ideals and beliefs between the four Kingdoms of Remnant, and it ended in the everlasting peace between us! That is why we hold the Vytal Festival; in honour of the peace that we continue to treasure." He finished as the audience applauded once more. "Now then, before we proceed with the show, we need a few volunteers to play some of the soldiers from the various kingdoms. Any takers?"

Many people rose from their seats to raise their hands, while a few stage assistants starting selecting volunteers. Eventually, one of them reached where Team JNPR, as well as Ryu and Gwen were sitting. "Excuse me, but you two like to be part of the show?" She asked Ryu and Jaune.

"W-what? Me?" Jaune asked nervously. "I-I don't know if I'm acting material for…"

"Don't worry, Jaune. I'll be standing beside you for support." Ryu put his hand on the blonde knight's shoulder, to reassure him.

Jaune calmed down, and put on a brave face. "Well, okay then. Let's do it!" He got up, as the two of them walked with the play assistant. Once they reached backstage with the dozens of other volunteers, everyone was given costumes, as well as a wide range on different prop weaponry. Jaune managed to get a shield and sword prop similar to Crocea Mors, while Ryu ended up a sword similar to his Yahto Blade.

Ryu smirked when he saw Jaune embracing his role very well. "Well now, you seem to be taking your role quite well."

"Well yeah. After all, seeing as my great-great-grandfather was part of The Great War, I feel like I'm actually in his shoes right now!" Jaune responded with glee.

Ryu nodded. "I know exactly how you feel. My ancestor also fought in The Great War. That's why it gives me the feeling that I am in the exact same position as he is."

"All right, places everyone!" The stage assistant called out. The curtains opened as she began narrating the story of The Great War. Eventually, she directed all the volunteers out onto the stage, as Ryu and Jaune performed their roles as Huntsmen from Vale with the utmost skill. After the play had ended, everyone rose from their seats as they gave a roaring applause, especially Pyrrha, Gwen, Ren, and Nora. After they returned the costumes, Ryu and Jaune went back to their friends, as they were both tackled into a tight hug by their respective girlfriends.

"That was amazing!" Pyrrha squealed.

"Yeah, I never knew you guys had such talent." Ren chuckled.

Ryu laughed, while rubbing his head. "Well, even so, I think the real star of this show was definitely Jaune!"

"Oh stop, you were better!" Jaune said embarrassingly.

"You both were awesome. You were like "BOOM! POW!" and they were like, "AAH! NO!"" Nora shouted with glee.

Everyone laughed, before getting up. Once they made their way off the ground, they were greeted by a family. "Excuse me, are you the two actors who portrayed the soldiers?" The father ask, to which they nodded.

"Oh, you two were amazing up there! Would it be all right if our kids took a picture with all of you?" The mother asked.

Everyone looked at each other before agreeing. Once the two kids got together with the six of them, the father took out his scroll and snapped the photo. "Ah perfect! Thank you very much!" He replied, as the family walked away.

Feeling happy with how the day had gone, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Ryu, and Gwen decided to call it a day, they decided to head back to Beacon to call it a night. But before that, the stage manager made a quick announcement. "Attention folks, just a quick reminder. If you plan on staying up later on tonight, we will be holding a fireworks display for all of Vale to enjoy!"

After returning back to campus, they were surprised to see Team RWBY as well as Damien and Neos, waiting for them. "Hey, look whose back?" Yang joked.

"So, how'd your day go?" Neos asked.

"Oh, y'know. We were beholding the atmosphere that Downtown Vale had to offer for the Vytal Festival." Ren replied.

"Really? Did you also take part in the Great War re-enactment too?" Blake asked.

"Ah, so you watched it too, right?" Gwen commented.

"Yup." Weiss replied. "I have to say, you both did a remarkable job on stage. Very nice!" She smiled.

Jaune rubbed his head, and replied. "Thanks!"

"So, what are you guys doing out here?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, we were just about to watch the fireworks display." Damien replied. "Wanna join us?"

The six of them nodded, as the twelve friends gathered all across the quad, as they all watched the fireworks display. Eventually, all the other students, as well as the professors, stepped outside the campus to watch as well. Nobody was certain as to what the Vytal Tournament Festival had in store for them, but one thing was for sure; they all be together no matter what they faced.

* * *

 **There you go. I hope that was satisfying. You know, it's been such a long ride, and even though I've had several chapters of fluff or romance or whatever, I have no regrets with how the story has turned out. Next time, I will be going into a plot that I have been saving since the very beginning of this story!**


	31. Chapter 30: The Team Tournament

**Greetings folks, this is the grand plot I've been waiting for, a tag team tournament! Allow me to explain myself. The original idea I had for this entire story was just the tournament where Team RWBY and friends would encounter Team DRGN, but somewhere along the line, this entire basis had evolved into a giant OC story. Regardless, this idea was not lost because I had planned to save this story for last. Now that this story seems to be approaching the Volume 3 arc, I think the time has come to put this plot to use. Without further delay, let us begin!**

* * *

The Vytal Tournament was closing in, as students from all other academies were attending classes alongside Beacon Academy students, to the point that Ms. Goodwitch's class was becoming quite lively. Everyone was currently watching a match between Ren and Ryu. The two of them were evenly matched, but in the end, Ryu was far quicker than Ren. After the match ended, the two bowed to each other, before returning to their seats.

"Well now, this has certainly been quite a display of skill. I can say that this year's Vytal Tournament Festival will be something to behold!" Professor Goodwitch stated, while adjusting her glasses. "Ah yes, before we conclude today's class, I have a special announcement! We will be holding our own tournament which will be starting tomorrow. Any questions?"

Damien rose his hand, as he asked. "What are the rules for this tournament?"

"Good question, Mr. Crimson." Glynda addressed him. "This will be a team based tournament, meaning that you **must** attend with all team members present!"

Neos rose his hand, with a sneaky facial expression. "Are there any prizes involved?"

"No, Mr. Xanthos, This tournament is merely for fun. Though, we strongly encourage any students who are participating in the Vytal Tournament to sign up for this tournament, as it will provide you a good amount of experience!" She explained. "Anyone who wishes to participate, please make your way to the Amphitheatre where sign-up sheets will be made available. Just remember that it is one member per team who signs-up. And finally, since there is only room for eight teams, there is no guarantee that all teams will be picked. Class dismissed!"

Everyone was walking out of the lecture hall, thinking about the announced tournament that Professor Goodwitch was talking about. "Oh man, a team tournament. That sounds so cool!" Ruby gushed.

"So, I'm guessing you girls are planning on taking part?" Gwen asked.

"You bet!" Yang replied.

"Cool! In that case, you can count us in for a little team action! Right guys?" Damien looked to his team as they nodded.

"Oh! I wanna join too!" Nora squealed.

Jaune laughed. "Okay Nora. We'll sign up too."

"Well, what are we waiting for? To the amphitheatre!" Neos announced, as Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN raced to the auditorium, where they saw hundreds of students crowding the place. They reached the sign-up desk, where the three team leaders registered for the tournament.

"Oh, are you guys participating too?" They heard a familiar voice, as they turned to see Velvet.

"Hey there, Velvet." Blake greeted her fellow Faunus. "Is Team CVFY taking part too?"

Velvet smiled and nodded. "That's right. Coco really wanted to do this, and who am I to say no."

"Don't forget about us!" They heard Sun calling out to them, as He and Neptune, as well as a scarlet-haired boy with a buccaneer outfit; and a tall, dark-skinned muscular swordsman, approached the large crowd.

"Sun? I didn't know you'd be joining in too." Pyrrha commented.

"Yeah. Plus, I think this is the first time we've seen your whole team." Neos pointed out.

"Oh yeah, well let me formally introduce you. This scarlet go-getter is Scarlet David!" He waved to the scarlet-haired boy.

"Cheers, mates!" Scarlet greeted.

"And this burly guy here is, Sage Ayana!" Neptune pointed towards the other teen.

"Sup?" Sage nodded, his arms folded.

"And together, we are… Team SSSN!" Sun proudly stated, causing everyone to chuckle nervously.

After a few minutes, one of the student organizers, who had silver hair, called out. "Attention everyone, sign-ups for the Team Tournament are now officially over! We will now be announcing the teams who will be taking part in this tournament, so if everyone could please line up single file with their teams, that would really be appreciated!"

Everyone gathered together with their teams, as another organizer, this one had gold hair, stood up with the sign-up ballot box in his hand. "All right, when I call out your team name, please step forward as a group!" He addressed the team, as he reached into the box, to pull out a team name. "Team AQUA, please step up!"

A group of four stepped forth while receiving applause, as the next team was drawn. "Team JNPR, please step up!"

There was another round of applause, while Teams RWBY and DRGN congratulated their friends.

"Team SSSN, please step up!" Sun and Sage whooped as their team stepped up.

"Team CFVY, please step up!" Ruby congratulated Velvet, as she and her team stepped forward.

The gold haired student passed the box to his silver-haired partner, as he called out the last four teams. "Team FNKI, please step up!" A group of night-club students stepped forward.

"Team CRDL, please step up!" Team CRDL was greeted by boos, much to Cardin's frustration.

Only two spots remained, as everyone looked on, while the second-to-last ballot was drawn. "Team DRGN, please step up!" A huge cheer erupted, with Ruby and Yang overjoyed with their respective boyfriends, as they stepped forward.

"All right folks, this is the last draw. Only one spot remains. Whoever this is, is going to be the final team for this tournament. And that position, goes to…" There was a hard silence, as the silver-haired teen drew the final ballot. "…Team RWBY!" There was another roar of applause, as Team RWBY cheered and stepped up, alongside Teams JNPR, DRGN, CFVY, and SSSN. Afterwards, all eight teams marched to the front

The gold-haired teen stepped up and addressed everyone. "There you have it folks, this concludes the draw for this tournament! We apologize to any teams that we were unable to draw, but there's always next time!"

The silver haired teen spoke up. "The tournament will take place first thing tomorrow at noon, so make sure you arrive at the colosseum behind campus, which was generously donated by the Official Tournament Committee, and we will see you there!" Everyone applauded as they all exited the auditorium to prepare for the tournament.

The next day, the entire campus made their way to the colosseum behind Beacon Academy, with the eight selected teams standing in the middle. Professor Goodwitch was facing the teams, as she spoke. "Welcome everyone, to the Beacon Team Tournament. This tournament serves as the ultimate test to the teamwork and training that you have learned here in this establishment!" Everyone applauded as Glynda spoke again. "You will abide by the same set of rules that will be used in the Vytal Tournament, meaning that a fighter will be eliminated once their aura level reaches critical levels, or if they are thrown out of the battle area." She pointed towards the giant gray rectangular ring that was in the very centre of the ring. "And, even though this is a formality, if we see anyone inflicting any serious or deadly harm on one another, there will be consequences!" She adjusted her glasses, before continuing. "Each team will fight one on one, whoever eliminates all members of a single team will advance to the next round!"

After she finished explaining the rules, everyone faced the giant screen, as the tournament schedule was finished shuffling the match-ups. The first match showed Team RWBY against Team CRDL; the second match showed Team SSSN against Team AQUA; match three was Team JNPR vs Team FNKI; and the final match was Team DRGN vs Team CFVY. After everyone except Teams RWBY and CRDL made their way to the stands, the screen displayed their pictures and their aura meters.

The two teens from yesterday were in the broadcaster's booth as they commentated the match. "Hello everybody! Thank you for tuning in to the Team Tournament, broadcasting live from Beacon Academy! I'm Rick Silverstein and I'm here with my good pal, Dale Goldberg!"

"Thanks Rick, I gotta say, it's great to be here today! I tell you, we've got a lot of great teams out here today, who are just itching to win it!" Dale said.

"Well said, Dale. Let's not dilly-dally anymore. How about we go ahead and introduce the first two teams?" Rick replied, as he proceeded to introduce them. "Like precious stone, these four girls are truly something to behold. Give it up for Beacon Academy's own Team RWBY!"

The stadium was filled with roaring cheers. "Go Ruby go!" Neos cheered, with Teams JNPR, DRGN, SSSN, and CFVY all sitting together.

"Whoop their asses, Yang!" Damien called out.

"And here's their opponent, the foil to their gemstone, these boys are no pushovers! It's Team CRDL!" Dale introduced.

Cardin and his team waved to the crowd, only to be greeted by jeers yet again. "You suck!" Jaune, Sun, and Neos all yelled simultaneously.

"Guys, be more respectful." Ryu sternly said.

"Aw come on, Ryu. We all know that Team CRDL's nothing but a joke at this point." The ex-rouge replied, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

"Wow, listen to that hostility Dale. It's clear that they are not in any favour to win!" Rick mentioned.

"Right you are, Rick. But don't count them out just yet!" Dale said. "Anywho, without further delay, let's start the match!"

The two teams readied their weapons, as they stood ready.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

Once the buzzer sounded, they dashed towards the centre, prepared to clash. Russel Thrush charged directly at the team, with his daggers ready. But Yang simply delivered a powerful punch directly into his face, sending him flying out of the arena, thus eliminating him.

"Oh, would you look at that? Just like that, Team CRDL is already at a disadvantage!" Rick shout-casted.

Dove Bronzewing fired few shots from his sword-pistol, but Blake was able to dodge all of his shots, with incredible ease. She then wrapped Gambol Shroud around his body, where once she released him, it caused him to spin around. After Dove stopped spinning, he was in a daze while teetering on the edge of the stage. Blake walked towards him, and with a smirk, she lightly pushed him off, knocking him out too.

"Two birds down! I tell you, Rick, he's gonna need a few barf bags to go with that!" Dale commented.

Sky Lark ran towards Weiss, where she simply froze the ground he was walking on, causing him to lose his balance. Sky was sliding on the ground, where he ended up flying out of the arena as well.

"And another one bites the dust! Man, oh man, things are not looking so good for Team CRDL!" Dale said.

"You said it, Dale! They really need to pay more attention in class!" Rick mentioned. "However, Cardin's not planning on going down this easily!"

Cardin gritted his teeth at the incompetence of his teammates, while glaring at Team RWBY. "Idiots! Must I do everything myself?!" He grumbled under his breath, as he leapt into the air, bringing his mace down to where the four girls were standing. He slammed his weapon into the ground, causing an explosion on the spot. However they managed to avoid Cardin's attack, as they prepared to barrage him.

Ruby twirled Crescent Rose at Cardin, dealing a few powerful slashes, before batting him over to Weiss. Weiss waved Myrtenaster around, trapping him in a giant ball of ice, while pushing him away. Blake slashed the frozen boy, breaking him free and then kicking him into the sky. Finally, Yang jumped over Cardin, and brought her fists towards his chest, whilst firing a double shot from Ember Celica, sending him to the ground. Cardin moaned, as the screen showed his aura had reached the specified threshold, thus eliminating him from the match.

"And just like that folks, Team CRDL is eliminated from the competition!" Dale shouted, as the entire audience cheered. "I tell you, Rick, no one could have foreseen such an onslaught like that!"

"Indeed, Dale. I guess you could say, he went down with a 'Yang!'" Rick joked, as the arena was silent for a second, except for a squeal from Yang.

"Did you really just say that?" Dale asked, incredulously.

"What? Every good commentary needs a pun now and then!" Rick tried to defend himself. "Anyways, Team RWBY advances to the second round! The next match will begin shortly, so will the next two teams please make their way to the arena?" He finished, as Goodwitch repaired the arena for the next match.

While Russel and Sky helped their leader off the ground, Team RWBY made their way to the stands, where all their friends greeted them. "Beautiful finish as always!" Damien hugged Yang.

"Aw thanks!" Yang giggled, as she kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, that was some great teamwork right there. Not bad!" Coco replied.

"Thanks, Coco!" Weiss thanked.

"Well, we're up next! Hey, how about a quick kiss for luck?" Sun joked, causing Blake to blush madly, before she quickly kissed his cheek. "Heh, no need to be so shy about it."

"Just go already!" Blake shouted with her cheeks getting redder by the second, which caused everyone to laugh, while Sun dashed with a huge grin on his face, with his teammates following behind him.

"All right folks, the second match is about to start! Our first team, which is brighter than the stars in the night sky; all the way from Haven Academy, It's Team SSSN!" Dale introduced. Everyone cheered, with Neptune winking towards Weiss, causing her to blush.

"And their opponent, all the way from Shade Academy; the squash buckling band of teens, who's stronger than the tides in the midst of a storm, give it up for Team AQUA!" Rick introduced, as Team SSSN saw a blue haired female knight (Alice Poseidona), a purple haired bandana wearing giant with big gauntlets (Quinton Storm), a purple haired girl with a big staff (Ursula Rains), and a red spiky-haired teen with twin scimitars (Aiden Liam).

"Hey there, a pleasure to meet you." Neptune formally introduced him to the blue-haired leader, with a wave of his eyebrows.

"Just keep your eyes on the battle!" Alice glared towards him, while waving her sword to whip water at Neptune's feet, causing him to let out a girly scream.

"What the heck was that about?" Jaune asked.

"Neptune's… afraid of water…" Blake sheepishly explained, causing everyone to turn towards the Faunus.

"Seriously? And yet he's still named after the god of the sea!" Neos questioned.

"The irony is indeed strong here." Yatsuhashi nonchalantly added.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

The two teams charged towards the teams, as Sun and Neptune were against Alice and Ursula, while Scarlet and Sage faced off against Quinton and Aiden. Alice charged towards the duo, with her sword clashing with Neptune's trident; while Ursula fired a beam from her staff that Sun leaped over. Sun transformed his nun-chucks into a staff while firing a shotgun blast at the water partners.

Meanwhile, Aiden and Quinton attacked Scarlet and Sage, who dodged their attacks. Sage blocked the strikes from Aiden's scimitars, while trying to push him back. Scarlet fired a shot from his flintlock at Aiden, while slashing towards Quinton with his sabre.

"Heh, you guys ain't so tough!" Sage smirked towards the duo, while Scarlet nodding in agreement.

"Ha! You haven't seen anything yet!" Aiden grinned, as he brought his hands up, creating a few fire pillars between the two, while also accidentally hitting his partner at the same time.

After dodging a flaming pillar, the burly teen angrily faced his hot-headed partner. "Hey! Watch where you're spawning those things!" He yelled.

"Please, next time, don't stand in my way!" Aiden yelled back. This caused Quinton to fly into a blind rage, as he leapt into the air, while clenching his fists. Aiden saw him heading his way, as he tried to calm him down. "Hey wait, wait, WAIT! Don't do it!" But it was too late. Quinton slammed his gauntlets into the ground, knocking Sage, Scarlet, and Aiden out of the arena. However, he destroyed the ground he was standing on, which eliminated himself as well.

"Oh, and with that reckless assault, the teams have been cut in half. Quite a fatal flaw by Quinton Storms!" Rick Silverstein commented.

As the other knocked-out teens got up, Aiden took the opportunity to berate his teammate. "You idiot! Why the hell did you do that?! You just got us both eliminated!"

"Yeah! Well, maybe you should have gotten out of the way!" Quinton smirked.

"Don't give me that crap, you stupid butt-munching bandana wearing freak!" Aiden screamed.

"You take that back, you bloody porcupine!" Quinton roared back.

"MAKE ME!" Aiden retorted while bonking his head, with the handle of one of his scimitars. In response, Quinton tackled into Aiden, as the two of them got into a huge brawl, while Scarlet and Sage awkwardly watched.

The other teams watched the ruckus between Aiden and Quinton, being shown on screen. "Geez, they sure are going at it." Ruby commented.

The remaining fighters rolled their eyes while continuing their fight. Alice dug her sword into the ground, causing a huge wave of water to appear from under the two girls. Ursula waved her staff while surfing on the wave, controlling the wave to rush straight towards the two boys.

Neptune ran around in mass hysteria, while Sun rolled his eyes and created two sun clones to run towards the two girls. After making contact with them, they exploded, causing them to lose control, as the tidal wave started to wash over the arena. As Aiden and Quinton continued bickering, Scarlet pointed their attention to the wave towards them, as Aiden, Quinton, Sage, and Scarlet all hugged in fear.

Teams RWBY, JNPR, DRGN, and CFVY all watched in stunned silence, as the entire arena was washed away in a downpour. Thankfully, the electrical barriers shielded the audience from any splash-back.

"Whoa! Talk about being washed away in a sea of troubles!" Rick shout-casted.

"I'll say, Rick! I don't know how anyone could have made it through that." Dale Goldberg pointed out. "Wait a minute… What's that?!" He pointed as the flood started to subside, showing Neptune in a fetal position as the only one remaining on the stage. "I don't believe it, folks! Neptune just won the match for his friends, as Team SSSN advances to the next round!"

Sun, Sage, and Scarlet all ran up to carry Neptune in a celebratory fashion, while Team AQUA grumbled in response to their loss.

"We'll take a short break, before we continue on with the next two matches!" Rick Silverstein addressed everyone, as most of the audience exited the arena for the break.

* * *

 **Bada-boom! The tournament is underway! A few notes on my thought process. First off, seeing as the Vytal Tournament is being hosted by Beacon, it would make sense that Team SSSN and any other academy student would be attending classes in Beacon. Also, although people are aware I will state it again; Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder are NOT appearing in this story. Secondly, I know I made up Team AQUA right on the spot, but they are only one time characters who will not be given any significance to this story. Third, I put Team FNKI here because why the hell not. Though Flynt and Neon are the only known members, I'll think of ideas for the two other possible members. Fourth, the arena that the teams will be fighting on in question is supposed to be like the classic arena in every Dragonball Z episode/game ever.**

 **Now for something very serious: I know I've stressed out many, many times that I will not continue this story once I reach the Volume 3 arc. However after some thought and consideration, I was wondering if any of you guys would like me to continue this story from Volume 3? This will be a big poll that will last for the next five chapters, so PLEASE let me know. I will update poll results with each preceding chapter. Good night!**


	32. Chapter 31: Team Battle Blitz

**Hello everyone, I have returned from a long period of busy work, and now I present a new chapter for you. Here's the second half of the Beacon Team Tournament! Enjoy!**

* * *

As the other four teams made it outside, they rejoined with the now drenched Team SSSN. "Hey Sun! Congrats on making it to the next round!" Damien called out to the monkey Faunus.

"Thanks Damien! But really, it was Neptune who deserves the credit for making it possible! Isn't that right, Neptune?" He smirked to Neptune, who was still recovering from his aquaphobia.

"Is he going to be all right?" Ren asked.

"Oh sure. He just needs a moment…" Sage replied, while they turned their heads to see Team AQUA arguing with one another.

"You dunderheads, how could you allow yourselves to bicker with each other?! You guys ruined everything!" Alice yelled towards Quinton and Aiden, with Ursula glaring at them.

"Us?! What were you girls thinking with that dumb tidal wave move?!" Aiden retorted back, with Quinton nodding in agreement.

As everyone chuckled nervously, Neptune leapt off from his teammate, while pumping his fists in the air. "Let me at 'em! I'll show that wave whose boss and… wait, what happened?" Neptune wondered, when he found themselves outside the arena.

"You won the match for your team." Weiss pointed out.

Neptune was surprised as he had no recollection of the events, but he casually dusted his coat, while flashing a toothy smile. "Nothing to it."

Everyone moaned, before the speakers broadcasted from the stadium. "Will everyone please make their way back into the arena? The next match is about to start!" Rick stated.

"Oh goodie, it's time for our battle!" Nora cheered.

"Good luck you guys!" Gwen bowed to Pyrrha, who smiled and bowed back.

"Thank you, Gwen! I know we'll be fine." She replied back.

As everyone made it back to the arena, Dale announced the next match-up. "Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the second half of the Beacon Academy Team Tournament! Our next team is deadly, especially in full bloom; give it up for Team JNPR!" Everyone cheered, as Nora pumped her arms in the air.

"And now for their opponent; all the way from Atlas Academy, it's the night club sensation, Team FNKI!" Everyone started jamming to the funky beat that the trumpet player (Flynt Coal), and the Rastafarian wearing bongo player (Ida McGroove) were playing. Their teammates; a jumpsuit and shades wearing, brass knuckle wielding break-dancer (Kindle Jax); and multi-colour, hyperactive, roller-blading, nun-chuck wielding kitty Faunus (Neon Katt), were dancing to the rhythm.

"Hello, Beacon Academy, how we all doing tonight!" Kindle called out to the audience. "Are we all ready to get down?" He asked, as everyone started cheering.

Teams RWBY, SSSN, DRGN, and CFVY were surprised at this team. "Are they seriously from Atlas?" Damien asked.

"Don't look at me! I don't even know who they are." Weiss tried to explain.

"Well… they sure are an interesting group…" Ryu commented.

"Tell me about it! I love their fashion design!" Coco gushed over Flynt's and Kindle's outfits.

"Man, I was really hoping we take on that Schnee chick." Flynt muttered.

"Relax dude. Once we kick these JNPR dunces to the curve, then we'll be sure to win this whole thing!" Katt joked.

"Aight then! Let's do this!" Ida cheered.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

Ren and Nora squared off against Kindle and Ida, while Jaune and Pyrrha took on Flynt and Neon. Ida was continuously drumming on her bongos, to which Kindle was able to move in sync with the rhythm of the beat. While continuing to jam, the break-dancer was able to dodge every single strike that Ren and Nora tried to do.

"Come on now! You lack the rhythm!" Kindle gloated. "Ida, show them how it's done!"

The bongo player nodded, as she quickly drummed her instrument. Kindle's feet were tapping really fast, while he saw Ren and Nora ready to attack from both sides. However, Kindle spun around like a fast-playing record, generating a tornado around him. The two fighters were spun around, as they were put into a daze, as Kindle punched them both in the gut, causing them to stagger.

"Hey now, look at Mr. Jackson spin. He sure spun them right round!" Dale commented.

"Like a record baby!" Rick joked.

While Nora was still dizzy, she transformed Magnhild into its Grenade Launcher form, while firing several grenade shots into the air. Ida and Kindle panicked when they saw the shells raining down on them, as they tried to dodge. One of them hit Kindle in the face, destroying his shades.

"AAH! My shades!" Kindle yelled, as he faced the two teens with a look of extreme anger. "THAT COST ME 5,000 LIEN!" He roared. "Ida! DROP THE BASS!"

Ida was shocked when she heard that. "You sure about dis? We haven't rehearsed this number yet!"

"DO IT!" He yelled.

Ida sighed, as she adjusted a knob on her bongos. She played a heavy beat, which caused her partner to glow light-blue, before he doubled in size.

"Yikes! And I thought Yang had anger issues!" Ruby commented, causing her sister to shoot her a quick glare.

Ren and Nora looked shocked what they saw the giant teen in front of them. "All right, you little bugs! TIME FOR THE MAIN ACT!" He bellowed, as he ran after the two fleeing fighters, while his giant footsteps left holes in the ground.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha were continuing their battle against the other two band members. Neon was skating around the two, while continuing to insult them. "Oh, look at the 'big knight.' What's the matter, can't hit a moving target?"

"What?! Why you…!" Jaune gritted.

"Jaune don't! She's just trying to provoke you. That's exactly what she wants!" Pyrrha told him.

Jaune exhaled deeply, as he calmed down. "You're right…"

"Ooh, and there's his girlfriend, telling him what to do! I guess we know who really wears the pants in this relationship!" Neon taunted.

Jaune lost his cool again, as he tried to slash towards the Faunus, but she froze his arm with her nun-chucks.

Pyrrha broke the ice off him, before addressing Neon. "Excuse me, but Jaune here is a terrific leader!"

"Whatever you say, grandma!" She retorted, earning her some ire from the Spartan.

"G-Grandma?! WE'RE THE SAME AGE!" She yelled back.

"Really, because your outfit says otherwise. Spartans are soooo 300 years ago!" Katt stuck her tounge out.

Pyrrha took a deep breath and stared daggers, before she activated her Semblance, to control Neon's roller-blades. She was about to send her flying out of the arena, but Flynt intervened by playing a loud tune from his trumpet, disrupting Pyrrha's focus while knocking her back, and saving Katt from elimination.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled, as he dashed and caught his partner. As the two regained their composure, Ren and Nora met up with them, while still being chased by Kindle and Ida.

As soon as the two teams reunited, Team JNPR was nervous when they saw the titanic Kindle Jax. "Heh, it looks like this party's just about over. Jax, wrap it up!" Flynt ordered.

"Certainly!" Kindle grinned as he dashed towards them, his fist lined up. Team JNPR looked scared, as they feared that this would be the end. However, when he about to attack, he saw that the enhanced size bonus was beginning to wear off, as he shrunk back to his normal size. "What?! Nonono!" He yelped, as he staggered over to Team JNPR.

Upon seeing this, they had their hopes renewed. "Quick, Nora! Knock it out of the park!"

Nora grinned devilishly, as she lined up her hammer, and swung it directly at Kindle's stomach, knocking him back towards his team, as they were knocked out of the arena.

"Oh, and with a miraculous turn of events, Team JNPR advances to the next round!" Rick shouted.

Teams RWBY, DRGN, SSSN, and CFVY all sighed with relief. "Phew! That was a close call there…" Gwen said.

"Tell me about it. If that supersize boost hadn't worn off, who knows what would have happened!" Sun added.

Team FNKI got up from the ground, while Kindle was feeling down. "Sorry guys. I just caused us the round."

Flynt put his hand on his teammates shoulder. "Don't worry 'bout it, dawg. It happens!"

"Yeah! Besides, I smell a new album!" Ida added.

Neon waved towards Team JNPR. "Hey, awesome match you guys! Good luck in the next round!"

Pyrrha bowed towards them. "Thank you! Sorry about your shades, Kindle."

"That's fine, I have a spare!" He answered, as he pulled out another pair of sunglasses from his pocket.

As Professor Goodwitch repaired the arena for the last match, the announcers continued. "I tell you, I haven't seen a match like that since John Sienna's title bout!" Rick commented.

"Good point, Rick. But I think today's final match will truly be something to behold!" Dale replied.

As Team JNPR rejoined the stands, Damien rose from his seat. "Well, this is it! It's finally time for our match!" He announced.

"Oh yeah! Go get 'em, babe!" Yang smiled, as she punched his shoulder.

"Yeah. You can do it, Neos!" Ruby cheered.

"You know it!" Neos smirked.

"Don't count us out just yet! We're not going down that easily!" Coco replied.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Shall we proceed?" Ryu bowed.

Fox nodded, as Yatsuhashi bowed back. "Let us begin."

"Let's both do our best." Velvet commented, as Teams CFVY and DRGN made their way to the stage.

"All right folks, today's final match-up is going to be something to remember. First up, a team who is hyperactive as they are fashionable; give it up for Team CFVY!" Rick announced, as the stadium was filled with applause.

"And of course, don't forget their opponents! A team with such mighty strength, it's hard to not feel amazed by them; ladies and gentlemen, it's none other than Beacon's own Team DRGN!" Dale introduced, as everyone roared with such high cheers.

"Wow, listen to that Rick! It's clear that Team DRGN is the fan favourite!" Dale joked.

"True, but don't count Team CFVY out just yet. After all, anything can happen!" Rick added.

Velvet looked over Coco, for some affirmation. Coco knew what she meant, as she answered. "Not yet. Maybe next time." She whispered, as the rabbit Faunus nodded in mild disappointment.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

As the match begin, the two teams spread out. Velvet stood behind Yatsuhashi while they squared off against Ryu and Neos; while Fox and Coco were paired against Damien and Gwen. Damien shot a few fireballs towards the two with his Twin Dragon Fangs. The two dodged the attacks, while Fox dashed towards Damien. Meanwhile, Gwen fired a few ice arrows from her IceBorne bow, which Coco deflected with her handbag, coating it in ice. After breaking off the ice, she transformed her handbag into a jumbo machine gun, while firing a massive stream of bullets towards the archer. But Gwen channeled her ice knight, which blocked the heavy fire. She then commanded her knight to go after the fashionista.

Damien switched his gauntlets into flamethrower mode and shot a torrent of fire towards the dark teen; however, Fox was able to reach Damien and swung a powerful punch at him. Damien blocked the blow, which slightly pushed him back. "Heh, not bad Fox! What do you say we settle this hand-to-hand?" Fox smirked and nodded, as the two got ready to brawl.

Meanwhile, Neos called down a giant thunderbolt at his opponents, where they both dodged. Afterwards, the ex-rogue performed his spinning drill attack and charged towards Velvet, but Yatsuhashi blocked the attack, despite taking some shock. He pushed Neos backwards, but the giant green-armoured swordsman had little time to react as he tried to block an attack from Ryu's blade.

"Hmm, your skill with the blade is remarkable." Yatsuhashi nodded.

"I can say the same for you." Ryu answered back, as they continued to clash blades.

Neos was hesitant to fight Velvet, since she had no weapon equipped. However, he was surprised when the Faunus struck with a judo chop. As he recovered, Velvet ran towards him, and delivered a roundhouse kick, to which he jumped backwards to avoid. "Geez, never would have taken you for a martial artist!" He chuckled.

Velvet giggled. "Well, when you've taken enough abuse from Cardin, you tend to learn a few things!" she replied, as the two battled on, with Velvet managing to keep Neos on his feet.

The stadium was filled with cheers with the battle that was raging on. "Go Damien!" Yang cheered.

"Can you feel the excitement going on here, folks?! This spectacle is truly something to behold!" Rick commented.

"You said it, Rick! I am off my rocker right now!" Dale declared.

Yatsuhashi blocked a few bullets that Ryu fired once he transformed his Yahto Blade into a rifle. He leapt into the air, and slammed his massive blade into the ground, creating a massive shockwave. Ryu was sent flying back, but he dashed towards his opponent with a spinning slash, pushing him back. Ryu drew in power, as he created a large tornado towards Yatsuhashi, who was trapped in the vortex. The blue-haired swordsman dashed in and slashed him back and forth, before drop-kicking him out of the arena.

"Oh, and there goes Yatsuhashi! It looks like size isn't everything!" Rick said.

Fox and Damien continued their battle, with Fox trying to slash at him with his arm blades. Damien leapt into the air, and delivered an axe-kick, which Fox tried to block. He was left wide opened, and Damien took the chance to send him flying with a powerful uppercut. Damien then got above him and knocked him out with another punch.

"And Fox is down for the count!" Dale commented.

Coco tried to counter the ice knight that Gwen was still controlling. However, the familiar had coated most of the area around her in ice, which left her with very little traveling distance. Coco gripped her minigun tightly, while firing another round of bullets. Gwen dodged the barrage, and fired a volley of arrows at Coco's feet, freezing her in place. Damien charged his fist, and dashed towards her, landing a strong fire-punch at her, knocking her out of the arena.

"Aw, and there goes Coco! Good thing her shades are still intact!" Rick pointed out.

"Good point, Rick! I wonder what Velvet is going to do, now that her team is eliminated?" Dale wondered.

Velvet looked nervously, as Team DRGN grouped up against her. The four of them looked at each other, before Damien stepped up. "Uh, we don't have to do this, if you're not comfortable."

Velvet smiled and bowed, before yielding the match.

"Oh, and just like that, Team CFVY is eliminated from the competition! But you have to admit, that was quite a noble act of kindness from Mr. Crimson!" Dale commented.

Neos, Ryu, and Gwen walked over and helped up Fox, Yatsuhashi, and Coco; as the two teams waved to the crowd, who deafening cheers erupted from the stadium. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN were ecstatic at the match, as they all got out of their seats to join their friends.

"Good fight!" Damien smiled to Coco.

Coco lowered her sunglasses while facing him, and smirked. "Thanks! And may I say, I love your leather jacket!" She commented, as the two leaders shook hands.

Fox and Neos fist-bumped, Yatsuhashi and Ryu bowed to each other, and Gwen and Velvet giggled and hugged each other, while eventually, the other three teams reached the centre, with Ruby speeding towards Neos, tackling him into a big hug.

"Damien!" Yang cheered, as she pulled him into a tight bear-hug. "You were on fire back there!"

"Heh, you know me! Just doing what I do best!" He smirked, before sharing a kiss.

Everyone all greeted each other, as the audience continued to cheer. "Aww, would you look at that, Dale? Such a great gathering right there. Truly, a wonderful end to an incredible first round!" Rick commented.

"You said it, Rick! We thank everyone for tuning in to the Beacon Team Tournament! Tune it tomorrow for the second round, as we see Team RWBY face off against Team SSSN; followed by Team JNPR against Team DRGN! Until then, good night, folks!" Dale announced as he bid everyone farewell for the day.

* * *

 **That wraps up this chapter. For the record, I know last chapter I may have put Team CRDL through a lot of humiliation, and I apologize to anyone who likes them. But let's be honest, after Volume 1, Team CRDL literally became a joke character, getting beaten up by everybody! Now as for this chapter, the other members of Team FNKI I made up, and Kindle Jax spinning like a tornado is inspired by the dark koopa's animation in Paper Mario N64. Also, as for Velvet, seeing as her weapon is overpowered and I wasn't able to incorporate it into my story, so I decided to rework her as a martial artist. Anyways, tune in next time for Round 2 with Team RWBY vs. Team SSSN, and Team JNPR vs. DRGN.**


	33. Chapter 32: Round 2

**Greetings everybody, welcome back to another chapter of my RWBY OC story. I cannot believe I've actually come so far in this story, but I digress. It is time to continue on with the tournament.**

* * *

All of Beacon was up and excited for the second day of the Beacon Team Tournament. Commentators Risk Silverstein and Dale Goldberg were feeling good, as Rick opened up. "Hello everyone, welcome back to the Beacon Academy Team Tournament! I'm Rick Silverstein…"

"And I'm Dale Goldberg, and folks, have we got a treat for you today! After an incredible first round, we're left with four teams in the running!" Dale said. "Our first match for today will be Team RWBY against Team SSSN!"

"That's right, Dale. And then after that, we have Team JNPR facing off against Team DRGN!" Rick announced, to the cheering crowd. "Now then, it seems that the two teams are ready for action, so without further delay, let's get this show on the road!"

Teams RWBY and SSSN were in their respective sides of the arena, while Teams JNPR, DRGN, and CFVY were in their seats, cheering for both teams.

"Ladies… No hard feelings, right?" Neptune winked, while the others rolled their eyes at his comments.

"Ignore him, for he's… Yeah, he's dumb!" Sun snickered. "But seriously, just because we're all buddies doesn't mean we're gonna hold back!" He grinned.

"Likewise!" Yang smirked back.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

As the match begin, the two teams charged towards each other. Ruby swung Crescent Rose towards Neptune, but he was able to match her strength with his trident. Afterwards, he charged up his trident with electricity and conducted the voltage through her weapon, briefing shocking her. Neptune then turned his weapon into a blaster, as he fired a few shots, which Ruby countered with her own.

Sage was busy blocking the gunfire that Yang shot from Ember Celica with his giant sword. The blonde boxer charged towards the swordsman, and struck his chest with a strong punch, staggering him back a bit. Sage recovered and grabbed Yang's arm, as he leapt up while holding her arm. He slammed her into the ground, her back deep in the ground.

"Yikes! That's gotta hurt!" Jaune commented.

"Yeah, but Yang isn't taking this lying down!" Damien smirked, as she kicked Sage over to his teammate, Scarlet, who was busy dodging a few glyph attacks from Weiss. Scarlet fired a grappling hook from his flintlock, which latched onto Myrtenaster. He smirked as he ripped in out of Weiss's hands, and landed behind him.

"Oh, and it looks like Weiss has been disarmed! How will she fare now?" Rick shout-casted.

Weiss was about to retrieve it, but she saw Sage standing guard. Thankfully, Yang arrived just in time behind the two boys to toss Myrtenaster towards the heiress, as they initiated their "Freezerburn" attack. Weiss froze the ground around them, as Yang leapt upwards and punched the centre, surrounding them in mist. Scarlet and Sage got back to back, as the two Huntresses were prepared to attack. But the duo locked their arms, as they extended their swords out and spun, to clear out the shroud.

"Whoa! They actually countered FreezerBurn?!" Ruby was surprised, before getting hit by one of Neptune's blasts.

Scarlet fired his grappling hook at Yang, completely tying her up, while Sage countered Weiss's attack, while his strength was far superior as he managed to push the heiress out of the arena.

"I don't believe it folks! Sage and Scarlet were able to stop their counterattack, and Weiss Schnee has been eliminated!" Dale announced.

"Weiss!" Yang shouted, as her eyes started to grow red with fury. With a fiery explosion, she broke free of the grapple hold, as it swung back to Scarlet, tying him and Sage together. While they struggled to break free, Yang smirked, as she dashed towards the incapacitated duo, and landed a powerful blow, causing them to roll off the stage.

"And with that 2 for 1 deal, Yang Xiao Long turns the tables in Team RWBY's favour!" Rick shouted, while Weiss walked towards them to free them.

Meanwhile, Blake was having a hard time fighting against Sun Wukong. She fired several shots from Gambol Shroud, but the monkey Faunus was easily able to match it with a few shots from his own weapon. Sun dashed towards Blake to deliver a powerful kick, but he only managed to hit a shadow clone of Blake. Sun smirked as he knew that Blake was coming in from behind, so he made a clone of his own which exploded onto Blake, causing her to lose sight.

"You're not the only one who can conjure up clones!" Sun yelled, as he transformed his nun-chucks into a staff. He pushed him upwards, and slammed his staff onto Blake's head, bouncing her off the ground, and causing her to land on her back. Blake was in a daze when she got back up, as Sun dashed towards Blake and spun his staff, knocking Blake's aura level to the danger zone, thus eliminating her.

"And Sun Wukong evens up the score!" Rick shouted.

Ruby was continuing to dodge Neptune's blasts, where she got an idea. She used her semblance to swiftly dash around him, creating a tornado of her own, which pushed Neptune upwards.

Ryu was surprised when he saw that. "Well now, that appears to be the same strategy I used in my battle against Yatsuhashi." He smirked, to which Yatsuhashi nodded in agreement.

Neptune was defenseless when he saw Yang dashing towards him. "Not the face!" He panicked, as Yang punched him in the gut, sending him flying out of the arena.

"And there goes Neptune! It would seem that Sun is in a disadvantage now!" Dale commentated.

"That's right, Dale. But can he overcome it and defeat the sisters?" Dale wondered.

Sun had an annoyed look on his face as he saw Ruby and Yang advancing towards him. He did his best to avoid most off the attacks, while managing to land a few good few hits on both girls. However, he was eventually overwhelmed by Ruby's speed and Yang's strength, as he was soundly defeated.

"Oh, and despite putting up a good fight, it appears that it was simply too much for the young Faunus! Team RWBY advances to the final round!" Rick announced, as the audience applauded, with Damien and Neos cheering loudly for their respective girlfriends.

"Indeed Rick, but the bigger question is; who will they face off in the next round? Only time will tell!" Dale stated. "We will now take a one hour break. And when we come back, we shall watch as Team JNPR squares off against Team DRGN!"

As everyone exited the arena for the break, Teams RWBY and SSSN had exited the arena, while they were continuing to regain their aura, as Neos dashed towards Ruby, and spun her above. "I knew my lil' rose would win! I'm so proud of you!" He cheered, while holding her, as everyone else joined by with them.

Ruby giggled, as she kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Neos. I try my best!

Sun rubbed the back of his head, while holding out his hand to Blake. "So, no hard feeling about what happened back there?"

Blake stared at him, before forming a small smile on her face. She nodded, while shaking his hand.

Damien smirked, as he wrapped his arm around Yang. "So, you think we'll be squaring off in the finals?"

Yang grinned. "I sure hope so! I've been wanting to settle this competition between since day one!"

Damien grinned, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry. You shan't be disappointed!" He smiled, as they shared yet another kiss.

"Don't count us out just yet! We're gonna wipe the floor with ya when we're done!" Nora boomed.

Gwen giggled, as she turned to face Pyrrha. "Whatever happens, we'll still be friends, right?"

Pyrrha smiled, as she nodded. "Of course, Gwen. After all, this is a great experience for all of us!" She explained.

As the bonding continued, the announcers broadcasted over the intercom. "Attention everyone, the second match is about to begin! Will the two teams who will be facing off please make their way to the arena?" Rick stated.

"Well, this is it." Ren calmly stated.

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Ryu stated, as Teams JNPR and DRGN made their way to the stage.

"Good luck everyone!" Velvet shouted, as Teams RWBY, SSSN, and CFVY returned to their seats.

"Welcome back everyone, to the Beacon Team Tournament!" Dale announced. "After an amazing match from before, who know what this bout will have in store!"

"Right you are, Dale! We've got two incredible teams who are ready to face off with each other! It's Team JNPR against Team DRGN!" Rick introduced. "One of these two teams will advance to the final round in the hopes of squaring off against Team RWBY!"

Teams RWBY, SSSN, and CFVY were sitting in their seats as they cheered for their friends. "Oh man, if Team DRGN wins, that means I'll have to face off against Neos…" Ruby thought, somewhat worried about the possibility of battling her boyfriend.

"Don't sweat it, Rubes. Even if that were to happen, I know Neos will still love you no matter what!" Yang assured her.

"Well now, this should be interesting…" Damien smirked. "You guys ready for this?"

"You know it! You'll see what we're really made of!" Jaune grinned back.

"Three… two… one… Go!"

The entire audience erupted in cheers, as the two team dashed towards the centre clashing. Jaune and Pyrrha were against Gwen and Neos, while Ren and Nora squared off against Ryu and Damien. Gwen aimed her Iceborn bow above her, as she rained down a volley of arrows with Neos called down a few thunderbolts. The two fighters dodged the barrage of attacks, as Jaune ordered Pyrrha to leap off Crocea Mors. Pyrrha bounced off his shield and dashed towards them, with Miló in its sword form, ready to strike at Gwen. But Neos leapt in front of her, and caught her blade. Afterwards, he delivered a jolt of electricity with his Claws of Mjolnir, which stunned Pyrrha; he then spun her around a few time before he threw her away from him. She landed with a thud, as she got back up.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted, as he tried to make his way to his partner, but Gwen shot two arrows at Jaune's feet, freezing him in place. She then detached her bow as she dashed towards him, trading a few blows. Of course, Jaune was able to block them, while he managed to push the archer back, before he freed himself.

Meanwhile, as Ren and Nora continued their battle against Damien and Ryu, Nora transformed Magnhild into its grenade launcher form, as she fired a volley of grenades towards them. Damien fired several fireballs from his Twin Dragon Fangs, destroying all of the grenades, while covering them in a thick black smoke. From the shadows, Ryu fired a few shots from his Yahto Blade, which Ren managed to avoid. He then dashed into the smokescreen, where he was able to land a clean hit onto the swordsman. Ryu was pushed back, but he recovered as he guarded himself from a few slashes from Ren's StormFlower. Damien dashed towards the two as was prepared to attack Ren, but he saw Nora about to flatten him with her hammer, as he managed to avoid the heavy blow.

"Oh geez, that was close!" He muttered to himself. He saw Ren managing to get the better of Ryu, as he called out to his partner. "Hey, let's do this!" He shouted, as he dashed towards his partner.

Ryu nodded, as he ran towards Damien. Ren and Nora were confused as to what they were doing. Ryu and Damien leapt towards each other, grabbing each other's arms. "Blazing Tornado!" They shouted, as they twirled each other before flinging themselves towards their opposite opponents, with Damien tackling Ren to the ground, and Ryu landing a blow against Nora.

"No way!" Ruby commented, as everyone else was surprised at their maneuver. "They actually came up with their own team attacks!" She squealed.

"Wow, talk about a switcheroo!" Rick commented. "I don't think they were expecting that!"

Meanwhile, Neos was continuing his battle against Pyrrha, where she managed to block all of his slashes with her shield. She then decided to use her semblance on his claws, pushing him back. Neos struggled to break free, but he decided to get into position to perform his spinning drill attack. Pyrrha tried to increase her strength, while Neos tried to break through by gaining speed.

Gwen was about to help out, but Jaune was too busy to not give her any opportunity. She then came up with an idea to temporarily freeze Jaune in place, while she quickly fired an arrow that froze Pyrrha's polarity-controlling hand in place. Pyrrha was shocked when she saw the ice form on her hand, as she was pushed back by Neos's spinning drill attack. Pyrrha tried her best to fight back as she tried to block it with her shield, but the strength that the ex-rogue had gathered was too great, as he managed to push her out of the ring.

"Oh, would you look at that! With that display of teamwork and skill, it seems that Pyrrha was unable to stand up to that!" Dale announced.

"Whoa! Pyrrha actually got eliminated?!" Weiss shouted, as she, Blake, and Yang were surprised.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted, as he saw his teammate knocked out of the stage.

"I'm fine, Jaune!" Pyrrha gave him a thumb's up.

"Sorry about that!" Neos sheepishly called out to her, which she smiled and nodded.

Meanwhile, Damien blocked a few open-palmed strikes against Ren, as he swung his left arm to deliver a punch to Ren's gut, followed by a swift uppercut that connected to his chin. At the same time, Ryu was having a hard time matching up to Nora's strength, as she swung her massive hammer that knocked the samurai into the sky. Ren and Ryu both landed on the ground with a crash, as they were both eliminated at the same time.

"Wow! And with their auras reaching their limits, we have a double knockout!" Dale shouted.

Ren and Ryu helped each other upwards, as they shook hands, while they continued watching the battle unfold.

Damien was busy dodging a few grenades from Nora, as he back-flipped kicked one back at her, stunning her, as he dashed in. Meanwhile, Jaune was busy battling Gwen's ice elemental knight, which although covered his arms in ice, he managed to defeat. However, he was unable to avoid the ice implosion, which Gwen ordered at the cost of some of her aura. Neos then shot a large lightning bolt directly at the frozen teen, but Nora managed to redirect the bolt towards Magnhild, while increasing her strength at the same time.

"Oh crap…" Neos realized when he saw what had happened.

"A close save by Nora Valkyrie!" Said Dale.

Nora leapt towards Neos and Gwen, slamming them both with Magnhild, knocking them both out of the arena.

"And a turnaround just like that! It seems that Mr. Crimson is at a disadvantage!" Rick shouted.

Yang was slightly nervous when she saw that. Could Damien actually lose this? "C'mon Damien, show them what you've got!" She yelled.

Damien eyed the remaining members of Team JNPR, as Jaune freed himself from the ice prison. Damien grinned devilishly, as he drew in power, causing his fists and feet to be coated in flames. He leapt up between the two, smashing the ground, which separated them. He then dashed towards Jaune, and delivered a barrage of fire-powered punches and kicks, before pushing him upwards with a stream of fire from his flamethrower gauntlets. He then proceeded to jump above him and finished him off with an axe-kick, sending him down to the ground.

"Oh my! Damien Crimson has just evened the score! Question is, Rick, can he come from behind?" Dale wondered.

"Well Dale, anything can happen!" Rick replied, as the crowd cheered at the intense match neared its conclusion.

Damien aimed his Twin Dragon Fangs at Nora, who leapt over it with a rocket-powered jump from her grenade-launching hammer. She then aimed Magnhild towards Damien, knocking him aside. But to her, and everyone's surprise, Damien actually managed to withstand the hammer's blow, as he aimed his gauntlets behind him to propel him forward, saving him from elimination.

"I don't believe it, folks! Damien Crimson just stopped a devastating charge from Nora Valkyrie! Who would have thought it?!" Dale commented.

Nora was unprepared, as Damien dashed towards her while gaining speed from continuously spewing flames by aiming Twin Dragon Fangs behind him. He then unleashed several swift strikes which she tried to either block or dodge. Finally, Damien performed a high kick above him, which knocked Magnhild out of Nora's hands. Determined to win, Damien landed a hard fire-punch directly at Nora's gut, sending her flying out of the arena, as she crashed into the wall.

"Nora!" Jaune shouted, as they ran towards Nora.

Nora, who was seeing stars mumbled. "Oh thank you Ren… I'd love some pancakes…" She shook her head, before snapping back to reality. "Aw man, we lost…"

"Oh come on now, you have to admit, that was a hell of a match!" They turned to see Damien extending his hand out. "Great fight!" He smiled.

Nora smiled back, as she grabbed his hand, and got back up. Everyone cheered for the two teams, as Teams RWBY, SSSN, and CFVY rejoined them. Yang and Ruby tackled Damien and Neos into a tight hug, as everyone else congratulated one another.

"Well, wasn't that something, folks?" Dale questioned.

"You said it Dale! Thanks for tuning in to another spectacular day here! Tune in for the final match tomorrow, as Team RWBY and Team DRGN go head-to-head to take the championship! But not before finding out who will take home the bronze between Team JNPR and Team SSSN! Until then, we'll see you all next time!" Rick signed off.

* * *

 **There you go, the second round is done. I try my hardest to emulate the combat experience as accurately as possible. Even if it isn't really balanced, I try to be fair, because I know how most people usually make their OCs a bit to OP; I try my best to keep things balanced. Regardless, my story is nearing the end. It's been a long ride, but all good things must come to an end. To be honest, I'm debating as to whether of not I want to continue this story into the Volume 3 arc, or if I should do a crossover story between RWBY and another series. If I do decide on a crossover series, here are the options I am considering: RWBY + Fire Emblem Awakening; RWBY + Mortal Kombat; or RWBY + Super Mario? Which crossover would you like to see? Do let me know, and I'll see you all next time!**


	34. Chapter 33: The Fight For Third

**Greetings everyone, the end is closing in. This is going to be a short chapter simply because I wish to keep the final match in a separate chapter. The third place match between Team JNPR and Team SSSN will be held here.**

* * *

As everyone exited the arena, all five teams conversed with each other. "Oh man, that was an intense fight! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!" Yang commented.

"Yeah, in fact, she was so worried about you, that her hair was close to falling off!" Blake joked, earning her a small glare from Yang.

Damien chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her. "Well, I told you that we would be facing off in the finals, and I always keep my word!" He stated.

"Oh dear, I don't even know who I should root for to win." Velvet thought out loud.

"I'm rooting for Yang to crush Damien!" Nora cheered, to which everyone stared at her.

"So Ruby, you excited for this?" Neos asked his gal.

"Oh yeah!" Ruby pumped her fist in the air.

"Don't forget about us! We'll be there to take third place here!" Sun shouted.

"We'll see about that!" Jaune retorted, as everyone decided to do some intensive training for the remainder of the day.

Day three of the tournament kicked off, as the entire stadium was packed to the core. "Hello everybody! Welcome back to the final day of the Beacon Team Tournament, with your hosts, Rick Silverstein and Dale Goldberg!" Rick introduced.

"That's right, Rick! After many wonderful matches, we are nearing the end here! Today, we have two teams who are determined to take home the championship here!" Dale mentioned. "That's why today, joining us up here in the booth, please give a round of applause to everyone's favourite headmaster, Ozpin!" The stadium was filled with cheers, as Ozpin sat between Dale and Rick.

Ozpin cleared his throat before speaking. "Thank you both very much! It is an absolute honour to sitting here today! I have been watching the matches unfold one by one, and let me just say, I am excited to see which team will take home the glory!"

"Indeed sir, but before we continue, let's find out who will be finishing third!" Dale mentioned.

"Right! It looks like that Teams JNPR and SSSN are all set, so let's not waste any more time here!" Rick stated.

As teams RWBY, DRGN, and CFVY took their seats in the stands, Teams JNPR and SSSN were prepared to face off against each other. "Well, even if we can't come in first, we can at least take third!" Sun smirked.

"Don't count us out just yet!" Nora stated.

"Three… two… one… Go!"

Everyone spread out as each team member was pitted against one another; with Jaune and Pyrrha against Sun and Neptune, and Ren and Nora against Scarlet and Sage. Sun crouched down to allow Neptune to leap off him. He shifted his weapon into blaster mode as he fired several blasts downwards on his opponents, while Sun fired a few shotgun blasts from his nun-chucks as well. Jaune and Pyrrha linked their shields together to block the heavy fire, as they slowly advanced towards the duo. Jaune stood guard as Pyrrha transformed her weapon into a rifle, while firing a couple of shots over his shoulder. Sun and Neptune avoided the attacks as they charged towards them.

"Wow! Would you look at the teamwork between them?" Rick commented.

"Indeed. While Jaune is taking a defensive approach, he's also allowing his partner to counter back! Most impressive!" Ozpin stated.

Meanwhile, Scarlet and Sage were busy with their confrontation against Ren and Nora. Ren fired a barrage of bullets from Stormflower, which Sage managed to block with his sword. Scarlet peeked over his shoulder and fired a few blasts from his flintlock gun. Eventually the two of them charged towards them with their weapons in hand. However, once they avoided the attack, Ren dashed towards them while Nora leapt off in the air.

Determined to soften their blow, Scarlet motioned for Sage to toss him in the air to stop Nora's blow, while Sage stayed down to deal with Ren. Ren was about to strike with a swift kick, but Sage grabbed his foot and swung him around a few times. Meanwhile, Nora saw what was happening as she shifted Magnhild into its grenade launcher form while aimed towards the burly swordsman. However, Scarlet grabbed the launcher as he tried to redirect it away from his partner. However, as he pointed it towards himself, Nora pulled the trigger, launching him out of the arena. At the same time, Sage slammed Ren into the ground, before tossing him above him. While Scarlet was flying through the sky, he took the chance to fire his grappling hook to latch onto Ren's leg, dragging him out the arena with him, resulting in a double knockout.

"Holy crap! That was a hell of a strategy!" Neos shouted.

"My goodness, what a turn of events that was!" Dale mentioned.

"It's seems that even if Scarlet was unable to best Nora, he still took the chance to even the playing field!" Ozpin said. "Quite an unexpected plan!"

Meanwhile, Sun charged towards Jaune and struck hard with his staff, knocking Crocea Mors out of his hand. The monkey then twirled his weapon, to deliver several hard blows, before giving him a dropkick, knocking him off the stage.

"Oh and there goes Mr. Arc!"

Pyrrha was continuing to battle Neptune, as he was about to deliver an electro-charged hit from his trident. However, Nora shot a quick grenade to knock his weapon out of his hand. The young Spartan took the chance to deliver a heavy barrage of jabs and slashes, thanks to some quick weapon shifting skills. After pinning him to the ground, Neptune's aura level had reached the critical level, thus eliminating.

"And Neptune is down for the count! Talk about a true display of skill right there!"

As everyone else paired up, they were prepared to wrap up the match. Sage and Pyrrha clashed weapons, while Sun swung his staff at Nora. But the orange-haired bubbly girl sprung off his weapon, and descended quickly towards the stadium, striking the arena hard. There was a large explosion as the entire stage was obliterated.

The entire stadium was shocked, as the commentators were at a loss. "My word! Talk about kicking it into overdrive!" Dale exclaimed.

"Umm… is everything okay?" Rick wondered. "What's the status on the teams?"

As the dust cleared, Pyrrha, Sage, and Sun were knocked aside, while Nora was standing on a small tile from what was left of the arena.

"Huh… I guess Team JNPR wins…" Rick commented, still shocked at what happened. Ozpin simply chuckled, completely unfazed by the events, while the audience cheered.

"So, we'll take a moment to set everything back up!" Dale stated. "When we return, we'll watch as Team RWBY faces off against Team DRGN!"

Everyone regained their composure as they exited the colosseum. Teams RWBY, DRGN, and CFVY rejoined with Teams JNPR and SSSN, who recovered from their battle. "Well, that was something!" Ryu commented.

"Yeah, talk about hammering them in!" Yang cheered, to which Damien cheered and hugged her.

"So, congrats on your win!" Gwen smiled towards Pyrrha with a bow.

"Thank you!" Pyrrha bowed back.

"Well, we may not have made it onto the podium, but I have no regrets!" Sun commented.

"Indeed. What matters is that we all continue to do our best in order to effectively work together as a team." Everyone jerked their heads to see Fox actually talking. "After all, the skills we learn in this event will surely help us in the upcoming Vytal Tournament!"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Coco smirked, before patting Fox's shoulder. "Well said, Fox. Well said." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Attention everyone, the final match will commence shortly. Will everyone please their way back into the stadium?"

"At long last, the time has finally come!" Damien cheered, as he pumped his arm up high.

"You bet! Time to settle this, once and for all!" Yang declared.

"Best of luck to all of you!" Velvet bowed.

"Oh man, you ready for this Ruby?" Neos smirked.

"Absolutely!" Ruby cheered.

"Good luck, Weiss." Gwen bowed towards the heiress.

"Same to you, Gwen." She bowed back towards the archer.

"Shall we?" Ryu asked.

Blake smirked and nodded, as everyone entered the arena, for the final match of the tournament.

* * *

 **Boom! This chapter is over, only one more remains! I can't believe that I've come so far here. Again, once this story is over, I plan to either rework some of the earlier chapters, or maybe proceed with a different story. I'm still debating. Regardless, tune in next time for the final chapter, featuring the final showdown between Team RWBY and Team DRGN! Ciao!**


	35. Chapter 34: One Fiery Finish

**Heeeeeellooo! So sorry for the long wait, school has been hectic as of late. I've delayed this chapter long enough; it's time for the showdown between Team RWBY and Team DRGN! Let me tell you, it was an absolute struggle to convey the entire battle, especially the ending in particular. But regardless, this is my story and I stick by it! Now then, without further delay, here's the "final" chapter!**

* * *

The entire arena was filled with huge buzz, as everyone was ready for what the final match had in store. "Welcome back everyone to the Beacon Team Tournament!" Rick shout-casted. "It's been a long one, but now it's finally time to see who will come on top, right here and now!"

"Indeed Rick! We started out this tournament with eight teams, and now we're down to just two! And here they come…!" Dale added, as the crowd was silence. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce to you once again, Team RWBY and Team DRGN!" Everyone, including all their pals, went wild as the two teams made their way to the stadium. Four pairs walked through a display of pyrotechnics of their respective colour; as Ruby & Neos, Weiss & Gwen, Blake & Ryu, and Yang & Damien walked to their respective sides.

"Boy, I tell you, the bonds that they have is astounding, but they're going to have to put it aside!" Rick commented.

"That they will, Rick!" Dale agreed. "Professor Ozpin, any comments before we begin?"

"Well, all I can say is everyone has fought well to reach this point. Therefore, whoever prevails will be based on their drive, teamwork, and skill. No matter what happens, I can safely say that their bonds will still be intact!" Ozpin concluded.

"Well said, sir! And now, it is time to bring this tournament to a climactic finish!" Rick stated.

"So, this is it. I can't believe it's come down to this!" Ruby mumbled.

"I know. I'm so excited right now!" Yang giddily replied.

"Y'know, I'm not surprised that it would boil down like this!" Neos muttered.

"Yup. And quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way!" Damien grinned.

"Man, the excitement here is building! No one wants to lose after having to come so far!" Rick announced. "This is it, folks! This is where it all boils down to! Team RWBY vs Team DRGN; let the final round commence!"

"Three… two… one… Go!"

The two teams dashed towards each other, as everyone clashed immediately. Ruby and Yang were pitted against Damien and Neos, while Weiss and Blake were battling against Ryu and Gwen. Damien shot several fireballs from his Twin Dragon Fangs towards them, to which Yang destroyed them with a few shotgun blasts from Ember Celica. While their vision was obscured in black smoke, Neos dashed towards them with his Claws of Mjolnir, prepared to strike at Yang. But Ruby blocked his attack by raising Crescent Rose towards him, while the ex-rogue avoided a shot from her. He channeled the lightning in his claws to create a huge lightning orb, tossing it at them. However, the girls were saved by a glyph from Weiss. Damien dashed towards Yang as the two battled, matching each other's attacks.

As Weiss was distracted with saving her teammates, she was unable to dodge a wind wave from Ryu. She channeled Myrtenaster to create a few speed glyphs as she and Blake initiated their "Checkmate" attack. However, Gwen shielded her and Ryu with her ice knight protecting them. Ryu gripped his Yahto Blade, as he created a tornado, knocking back Weiss and Blake. He then dashed into the twister, slashing the two girls, until it died down. Gwen shot a few ice arrows from her IceBorn bow, freezing them in freeze, while Ryu charged his blade as he dashed towards Blake, who was completely covered in ice. However, to his surprise, it was a shadow clone that Blake created to take the hit.

The real Blake was swinging Yang around with Gambol Shroud, as she tossed the blonde boxer over to the blue-haired samurai. Ryu blocked the punch with his Yahto-Blade, but he was unable to counter her strength as the force of her punch was enough to push him out of the arena.

"Oh, and Ryu Yahto is the first one eliminated from this match!" Dale shouted.

Blake saw how Damien and Neos were overwhelming Ruby, so she decided to swing the ribbon portion on Gambol Shroud towards the crimson haired lad. However, Damien saw that coming and grabbed the weapon. Blake was shocked when she was dragged towards Damien, while Damien threw himself at her at the same time. The speed was too much for Blake, as Damien kneed her stomach, grabbed her arms, spun her around, and suplexed her. Blake was heavily slammed to the ground, as her aura had reached low levels, eliminating her.

"Wow! What a powerful blow from Mr. Crimson, and Blake Belladonna is out!" Rick shouted.

"Blake!" Yang shouted, as her eyes started to glow red with anger. She dashed towards Gwen who was struggling to block her punches. Yang was prepared to knock out the archer which a strong kick, but Damien dashed in front of her to catch Yang's leg, and countered by grabbing her arm and with a judo throw, he tossed her to Gwen, who drop-kicked her over to Weiss. Weiss and Yang initiated their "FreezerBurn" Attack, creating a mist cover. But Damien was unfazed by this, as he and Gwen fought back with a team attack of their own.

Damien shouted out, "Flaming Volley!", as he shot a large fireball in the sky, which Gwen shot at with a single ice arrow, causing several fireballs to rain down onto the arena.

"Whoa!" Ruby saw the fire raining down on her teammates, while she received a jolt of electricity from Neos.

"Pay attention, Ruby!" Neos reminded her, as he shot a lightning bolt towards her, which she dashed away from. She tried to speed around him, but he was able to match her speed, and grabbed Crescent Rose. However, Ruby twisted her scythe as she slammed her boyfriend into the ground. "Hmm, not bad!" He smirked, as he sprung back up.

Weiss and Yang were continuing to dodge the hellfire, as Damien descended towards Yang with an axe-kick, to which she blocked and fired back. Meanwhile, Weiss was continuing to battle Gwen's ice knight, which she dashed around, to land many swift slashes. However, it exploded, trapping the heiress in ice. Gwen saw her immobilized as she made her made towards her. However, Weiss was able to move Myrtenaster slightly, as she froze the ground Gwen was running on. Gwen lost her balance as she started to skid, but she knew that her aura was low. Determined, Gwen regained her balance and skated towards Weiss, while gaining speed. Weiss was shocked as Gwen tackled Weiss, knocking them both out of the arena.

"Oh man, that was one amazing slide tackle from Gwen!" Nora commented, as her team and friends were surprised at that.

"Tell me about it! Who knew she had such strength?" Coco muttered.

"Incredible! Gwen Charlotteton performed a self-sacrifice, eliminating both her and Weiss out from play!" Rick shouted.

"Of course! Seeing as Ms. Charlotteton's aura was low, this sort of move was to be expected." Ozpin clarified.

Ruby and Yang grouped up, as Damien and Neos did the same thing. "Well now, who would have guessed it would come down to just the four of us?" Neos sarcastically replied.

"Yeah, it's just like day one at Beacon!" Yang smirked.

Damien and Neos shot a stream of fire and lightning at the girls, which Ruby repelled by spinning Crescent Rose, while Yang dashed towards the two boys, landing a double strike at them both with Ember Celica. While Neos staggered a bit, Damien recovered, and grabbed Yang's arm, as they both spun around, trading blow for blow.

Neos got up from the ground, as he dashed towards Ruby while performing his spinning drill attack. Ruby blocked the attack with Crescent Rose, but Neos started to gain speed, pushing her back. Eventually, Ruby's grip on her weapon started to falter, as she was pushed hard from the arena, while landing on her back.

"Ruby!" Yang screamed when she saw her sister eliminated.

"I'm good!" She stuck a thumb's up to assure her.

"And with that battle of will, it seems that Mr. Xanthos was able to push through Ms. Rose's defences!"

Yang clashed her gauntlets together as her hair was ablaze. She dashed towards the two boys, landing a hard punch onto the ground. They dodged out of the way as Neos dashed towards Yang, who was prepared to counter, but he tumbled instead as he crouched down and allowed Damien to jump off his shoulders.

He descended with an axe-kick, which broke Yang's guard, while Neos performed his spinning drill attack once more with some added electricity. However, to his surprise, after Yang blocked the attack, she grabbed his arms, thus cancelling the attack. "HUH?!" He shouted, as Yang threw him upwards, while she leapt towards him. She winked as she landed a punch in his face, sending him flying off the stage.

"Unbelievable! Yang Xiao Long has managed to counter Neos' spinning drill attack, and has eliminated him from the match!" Dale announced.

"Well now. So it's come down to this!" Damien smiled at this familiar match-up.

"Let's not hold anything back!" Yang grinned devilishly.

"Whatever the lady wants!" Damien grinned back, as he charged himself up, igniting his fists and feet. He dashed towards Yang at high speeds, while leaving a blazing trail. He landed heavy blow after heavy blow, pushing Yang closer to the edge. But she wasn't going down that easily as she pushed back, gaining even ground with Damien.

After several minutes of trading blows, Yang finally gained the upper hand and landed a double fisted shot towards Damien's stomach, pushing him all the way back. However, Damien mustered enough strength to avoid falling off. Damien panted as he didn't expect Yang to fight back with such fury. Yang smirked as she dashed towards him, prepared to land the final blow.

"Oh, and Yang dashes forth to finish things off! Will this be the end?!" Rick wondered.

Yang raised her arm as she gave out a battle cry. However, to her and everyone's shock, Damien grabbed her arm and completely cancelled out the punch. "NO! NOT YET!" He shouted. Yang was shocked when she tried to land another punch, but Damien grabbed her other arm. He pulled Yang closer to her, and tossed her to the other side of the arena. "I refuse to let this match end! You said you wanted me to hold nothing back?" He asked, facing her with red eyes of his own.

Yang realized what Damien had in mind, as he grinned, eyes red as well. "You mean…"

"Oh yeah!" Damien unzipped his jacket, and threw it to the side. "Looks like you forced me to use my FULL strength!" He roared, as his entire body erupted in flames, while causing a crimson dragon silhouette to roar behind him. "Let's rock!" He grinned, with his body giving a crimson glow.

"I don't believe it folks! Damien Crimson has just unleashed his full power, and is making his way towards Yang! Who knows what will happen?!"

Damien and Yang exchanged even more punches and kicks, only this time, Damien was able to gain the upper hand. Damien uppercutted Yang high upwards, before delivering a powerful double-fisted hammer strike, causing her to crash to the ground hard.

"Well Yang, it's been a fun match..." Damien called out to her. "But this is the end!" As Yang got up, Damien shot an empowered stream of fire directly at Yang, scorching the ground it travelled over. Yang gathered enough of her aura to block the torrent of fire with Ember Celica. Eventually, there was another explosion, as Yang dispelled the flames, much to Damien's shock. Yang's power has also reached her high point, where she dashed towards the crimson haired lad. Once she reached Damien, she swung a mighty punch at Damien's face, which he blocked with the Twin Dragon Fangs, though it pushed him slightly back.

"No way!" Damien mouthed off. "I never expected anyone to match my power like that. Just... Wow!"

"Thanks Damien! This is, by far, the greatest match ever!" Yang grinned.

Damien grinned back. "Let's finish this!" He declared. After starring each other down, red eyes against red eyes, the two ran towards each other with blistering fury on their sides.

Damien and Yang fought for what felt like hours, neither one of them conceding an inch. Every time one of them landed a blow, the force of each blow was enough to rattle the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're seeing what I'm seeing right now. Never before have I seen such an intense match between two opponents in my entire life!" Dale shouted, as everyone in the stadium, including their teammates, were cheering like crazy.

"Indeed. Mr. Crimson and Ms. Xiao Long are both equally fit fighters, whose battle is nothing more than a fiery testament of determination." Ozpin said. "Clearly, these two fighters have given everything they've got, but only one of them has the stronger will to win this dance of flames."

After a few more minutes of battle, both fighters were exhausted, as they have both reached their limits. But they weren't going to let anyone stop them, as they nodded and charged their fists for one final punch. The two of them dashed towards the centre at mach speed, as their flame-covered fists collided with their heads, causing a huge explosion. The explosion was so powerful, that not only were the other members of Teams RWBY and DRGN pushed away by it, but the protective barriers shielding the audience wore away, as everyone in the stands felt the full force. The giant screen displaying their aura meters had lost connection, as the screen cut to static.

"Holy moly! I've never seen such a huge display of strength and stamina!" Rick shouted.

"Tell me about it! I can't see what's going on!" Dale added. "We're attempting to re-establish connection as we speak!"

Even Ozpin was at a loss for words. As the smoke started to fade, the only thing that was visible were the shadows of Damien and Yang standing off close to each other.

Both fighters were exhausted. "Heh… You really are strong…" Yang chuckled weakly.

"So… are you…" Damien replied feebly. "That's why… it makes me happy to battle such strong opponents like you, Yang…"

"Likewise… Damien…" She answered.

Both fighters smiled at each other, before they collapsed in front of them, passing out from the force of the clash.

"Unreal! Both Yang Xiao Long and Damien Crimson are down for the count, and show no signs of getting back up!" Rick announced. "In this sort of situation, the winner will be determined based on their remaining aura levels!"

As the screen signal was restored, it showed their aura levels. To the shock of Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Ryu, Gwen, Neos, Teams JNPR, SSSN, CFVY, Professor Ozpin, the commentators, and literally everybody; both of their aura levels were at zero!

"I… I don't believe it! Both of their aura levels have been completely depleted!" Dale announced.

"This is a first, ladies and gentlemen! It appears that we have a tie! Seeing as both fighters don't have the will to go on, Team RWBY and Team DRGN both win the Beacon Team Tournament!" Rick declared.

Everyone was completely shocked at the end result, however, a single applause broke through the silence, as Jaune got up from his seat and clapped his hands. Pyrrha got and joined him in applause, followed by Ren and Nora, Team SSSN and Team CFVY, before everyone joined in.

Both fighters were helped up by their teams, before Yang opened her eyes. "Rats... another draw!" She slightly pouted.

"Oh well. That just means we get to train harder for the next battle!" Damien smiled, as Yang was surprised. "Don't you see Yang? You give me the motivation to train to my fullest extent, and together, we'll reach the very top, no matter what!"

Yang smiled heavily before pulling Damien in. "I'd love nothing more…" Damien wrapped his arms around Yang, as the two shared a warm and tender kiss, with the whole stadium whooping.

Afterwards, Teams JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY reached them, and congratulated them.

"That was the coolest fight ever!" Nora cheered.

"Impressive stuff you two." Ren nodded.

"You guys were amazing!" Sun grinned, as everyone else crowded around the two teams.

"Aww… all is well that end well! I'm Rick Silverstein…"

"And I'm Dale Goldberg, and we thank you all for tuning in to the Beacon Team Tournament. Don't go just yet, as the award ceremony will take place shortly. Y'know, as soon as everyone recovers!"

After the two fighters recovered, the award ceremony took place, with all the teams who had competed standing in the arena. Everyone applauded as Team SSSN was crowned third, with Professor Goodwitch awarding all Team Members with bronze medals. "To our third place contestants, Team SSSN please stand on the podium!" She declared, as Sun, Scarlet, Sage, and Neptune stepping up, while there was a round of applause.

Team JNPR was crowned second. "To our second place team, Team JNPR, please step up onto the podium!" She awarded Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora with silver medals, as there was another round of applause.

"And finally, to our winning teams, Team RWBY and Team DRGN, please step up onto the podium!" Ruby, Neos, Weiss, Gwen, Blake, Ryu, Yang, and Damien all took their place together on the top of the podium as everyone there was given a gold medal. Rick Silverstein and Dale Goldberg arrived to gift Damien and Yang with a special crown, since they were both named MVPs for their teams.

The entire stadium was filled with huge cheers, as the massive event finally reached its conclusion. In the end, The Beacon Team Tournament was a rousing success. No matter what the Vytal Tournament had in store for everyone, they would be able to conquer anything… together.

* * *

 **Holy crap, what a finish that was! There you go, I decided to make this outcome a tie, because first off, it's always boring when the OC character trumps the main character. The second reason is because this is how the relationship between Damien and Yang is portrayed here; they are two fire-fisted brawlers who are equal to each other in almost every way, and as they train, the strength and bonds that they have with each other is reinforced.** **Now then, is this actually going to be the final chapter? Hmm...**

 **I know I've stated before that it has, but... I can't end it just yet. I'm so sorry for deceiving you like this folks, I don't mean to do that. I really was planning to have this as the final chapter because I've been rather busy lately, and I've sort of lost interest in story writing. However, despite everything, this has truly been an incredible experience, and as such, it's been fun. The truth is, I've actually thought of a new grand plot to end this story; much bigger than the team tournament idea. I have no clue when I'll get to it, since chapter posting will be longer than usual. Regardless, I thank everyone who has read/followed/favourited/reviewed this story, and I'll see you all whenever I get around to writing another chapter.**


	36. Update & Future Plans

**Hello again. It's certainly been a while since I posted something for this story. Well, I'll just cut to the chase; I know I said I would post up a few more chapters before I'd close this story. I've been meaning to get to it, I mean, I have cooked up a few ideas. However, I kinda haven't found the time for story writing at the moment, since school has been quite busy. Also, I've also been working on a new story for this website {head's up, it's a crossover between RWBY and Fire Emblem ;)}.**

 **Therefore, for the time being, this story will be put on hold until I can actually get the time to post chapters for it. Even so, I can say for certain that this story was an absolute success. With 14 favourites, 16 followers, 31 chapters, and almost 7,600 views, I am so proud of how far this story has come. Thank you all so much for everything. I've had a blast writing, and I hope you all enjoy yourselves.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum; aka, not me.**


	37. Chapter 35: Meeting the Parents - Part 2

**Surprise, I'm back! Hello everybody, I hope you didn't miss me too much. I'm back with another new chapter. This is a shorter chapter compared to the others, but it's something I've been saving for quite a while. After giving it much thought and planning, I'm ready to use it. Also, major fluff alert!**

* * *

"Ruby, are you sure about this?" Neos asked Ruby as the two of them walked through the Cliffside Forest.

"Of course Neos." The red-head explained to the ex-rogue, as they approached a tombstone. "I haven't done this in a while, and I just want to keep her up-to-date with my life."

Neos nodded, while he was carrying a bouquet of red roses. "I understand that. But even so, do you think it's a good idea for me to be here? I mean, I'm not exactly the holiest of people."

Ruby placed her hand on her boyfriend's shoulders, before giving a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You're a wonderful person, and I know my mom will like you very much."

Neos smiled at Ruby. "All right. I'm with you, Ruby."

The two turned towards the tombstone that had a rose symbol on it. On it, the writing engraved; "Summer Rose - Thus Kindly I Scatter."

After a few seconds, Ruby spoke up. "Hi Mom. It's certainly been a while, hasn't it. I know I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to you, what with the adventure of becoming a Huntress. Even so, it's still a great experience, and one I'd definitely continue." She giggled softly, before remembering something. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I don't know how you feel about me dating at my age, but I've met someone who's truly been at my side no matter what. Mom, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Neos."

Ruby motioned towards Neos, as he stepped forward. "Um... Hello, Ms. Rose. I gotta say, it's really nice to meet you. L-like Ruby said, my name is Neos Xanthos, and I am dating her right now. Sorry if I'm nervous, it's just that this is my first time meeting you."

Neos was a little flustered, but Ruby addressed him. "Don't worry Neos, you'll be fine. Trust me, just be yourself." She said with a smile.

Neos took a deep breath, before continuing. "I know I may not look like it, but I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world to have such a tremendous girlfriend like Ruby. She's got such a kind heart, a strong sense of leadership, and a powerful will of determination; kind of like my good pal, Damien. If you don't know who that is, he's been by my side for a long time." He said with a chuckle. "I don't know if Ruby's mentioned this yet, but he's also dating Yang right now. Even so, they go together so well." He sighed contently, before wrapping things up. "I'll say this though, you got some great daughters, and you know what? Me and Damien are glad to have met them; the four of us have never been so close." He smiled, before turning to Ruby for confirmation. She nodded, as he placed the bouquet of roses onto the tombstone. "It was an honour meeting you, Ms. Rose."

Ruby tightly hugged her boyfriend, while she happily shed tears. "Oh, thank you, Neos. I'm so glad you came! I know she liked you very much."

Neos chuckled, before replying. "Well, what can I say? She's a wonderful woman, and you're a wonderful girlfriend."

"I'm so glad to have such a caring boyfriend such as yourself. I love you, Neos." Ruby smiled, her silver eyes still watery.

Neos smiled back, while gently wiping the tears off her face. "I love you too, Ruby." The two hugged it out for a solid few minutes, before they walked back to Beacon.

Later on that night, Neos knocked onto Team RWBY's dorm room. Everyone was still awake, while having already changed into their pajamas. Yang opened the door to see Neos carrying a sleeping Ruby on his shoulders. "Hey Yang, sorry we're late. Ruby sort of fell asleep."

Yang nodded and whispered back. "That's okay. So, how'd it go with Ruby and... Summer?"

"It was a pleasant time." Neos explained, as Weiss and Blake took Ruby to the bathroom to change her in her pajamas. Yang and Neos sat down while they waited. "I don't know much about her, but if Ruby's an example, she seems like a nice person. If she was still alive, I'd certainly love to learn more about her."

Yang gave a solemn smile, while nodding. "Yeah, she truly was a super-mom." She turned to face the window. "I just wish I knew where _my_ mom is."

Neos put her hand on Yang's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, Yang. You'll find her, I know it."

Yang smiled back. "Thanks Neos."

After a while, the other three girls emerged from the bathroom, with Ruby still asleep. "Whew! She sure is a heavy sleeper." Weiss remarked.

Neos rubbed his head. "Yeah, it was a long walk all the way from Patch." He climbed onto Ruby's bunk bed, before he and Yang lifted Ruby onto the bed. After Yang finished the hand-off, the ex-rogue gently set her down, before stretching. "Man, I'm beat."

"So Neos, aren't you going to head back to your room?" Blake asked.

Neos was about to leave, but he felt Ruby's arms wrapped around him, preventing him from exiting. "Actually, I think I'll probably stay and keep Ruby company tonight." He chuckled, as well as the three girls. He removed his vest and sneakers and tossed them onto the ground, before cuddling up to Ruby. There was total silence as everyone had fallen asleep.

 **In a mysterious field**

"Huh? Where am I?" Neos woke up in the middle of a meadow. He saw flowers everywhere around wherever he walked. He continued to search around, until he saw a woman picking roses from the ground, while humming a song. She looked almost exactly like Ruby, but the only thing that was different was that her hood was white instead of red.

"Ruby?" Neos asked the woman.

The mysterious lady stopped humming before giving a small giggle. "Not quite dear, but you're half correct." She turned around, as her pair of silver eyes were locked onto the ex-rogue.

It took Neos a few seconds before the realization came into full swing. "Wait, you're... you're... Summer Rose!"

Summer nodded, before smiling warmly. "Correct, and from what my little rose has told me, you must be Neos!"

"Little rose?" Neos asked, befuddled.

"I'm referring to Ruby, silly!" Summer giggled again. "I've been keeping a watchful eye on her, and I've seen just how happy you've made her; always taking good care of her. It makes me so glad to know that she's alongside such wonderful people; especially you, Neos." She bowed towards the ex-rogue. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

Neos was stunned, but he quickly regained his composure. "T-thank you, Ms. Rose. It's such an honour to be with Ruby."

"Oh, come on now, no need to call me that. Just call me Summer!" She said.

Neos chuckled. "Yup, you're definitely Ruby's mother all right." He thought for a moment. "Say Summer, if you've been watching over Ruby, is this why you're in my dreams right now?"

Summer stared at Neos for a few seconds, before nodding. "That is correct, Neos." She walked towards the ex-rogue, before giving a serene smile. "So, what would you like to know?"

 **Back into Reality**

A few hours later into the night, Neos opened his eyes, before facing Ruby in his arms, still asleep. He turned to face the ceiling, still surprised at the powerful dream he had.

"Mmm, Neos, you okay?" Ruby drowsily mumbled.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The ex-rogue whispered.

"Did you see her?" Ruby asked.

"See who?" Neos wondered.

Ruby pouted. "My mother, of course."

Neos was confused at this point. "How did you know?"

Ruby smiled. "Well, I sort of overheard you and Yang talking, and I heard how you wanted to learn more about her. That's why I asked my mother to show up and talk to you through the only way she knows how."

Neos was amazed at that point. "Wow."

"So, did you guys talk?" Ruby asked again.

"Yup, we sure did." Neos smiled back. "I'll say it again, you've got such a super-mom. After all, you're the spitting image of her."

Ruby smiled while burying her head onto Neos' chest. "Thank you, Neos. You're the greatest." She whispered, before falling back to sleep in his arms.

Neos gently kissed her forehead, before closing his eyes. "Sleep well, my little rose." He whispered, before resting in each other's arms.

* * *

 **Wow-ee! That was certainly something wasn't it. I mean, Ruby and Neos were the first major couple in my story, and yet I feel like they've gotten the least attention so far. Now, I really don't know too much about Summer Rose, but if we are to assume that she is literally just like her daughter, then I wanted to make sure that she retained some of Ruby's child-like personality. Besides, if she were to meet any of Ruby's boyfriends, then this would be the only way possible. At this point, this story is probably going to continue including some more random chapters; I've been planning, and I've still got plenty of ideas that I wanna try out. So, stay tuned for more.**


	38. Chapter 36: Pool Day

**Oh hello there, I bet you weren't expecting another chapter so soon. To be honest, seeing as it's 35'C at where I live, this is pretty much what inspired this chapter. I was honestly debating as to whether or not I should go with it, but what the heck, a little fun in the sun never hurt anyone! Also, possible 'fan-service' alert or something.**

* * *

It was a hot, summer day at Beacon Academy. The scorching weather proved to be quite harsh for the students, who tried desperately to cool off. Team DRGN was lounging around, exhausted from the heat that was pouring through the window.

"Man, this heat is unbearable!" Neos groaned.

Damien, who already took off his jacket, was sweating under his armpits. "Tell me about it. I know my semblance revolves around fire, but this is ridiculous!"

The fan that was circulating around the room had died down. Ryu looked up from his book and addressed the situation. "It appears that the fan has ceased to work."

"Well thank you, Captain Obvious!" Neos shouted. "You're the wind guy, why don't you pump some cold air in here?!"

Ryu narrowed his eyes at the ex-rogue. "Do I look like an air conditioner to you?" He glared back.

Meanwhile, Gwen was pouring some ice cubes over the dying plant near the windowsill. Neos quickly grabbed one of the ice cubes, and started rubbing his chest with it. "Hey!" Gwen reprimanded him.

"What? I'm sweating like a freaking Boarbatusk over here, and you'd rather save a dumb plant over your teammate?!" The ex-rogue grumbled.

Gwen glared back at him. "Excuse me, but I believe that all life is sacred!"

Ryu added onwards to her argument. "Exactly, so stop being selfish Neos!"

"I'm selfish?!" Neos yelled at the two. "You two have semblances that can literally cancel out the heat, and I'm the selfish one?! Bullcrap!"

Damien watched as his teammates argued back and forth, before he couldn't take much more of this. "ENOUGH!" He roared throughout the room, causing everyone to clam up. "Look, I know this heat is causing us all to lose our tempers, but all this arguing isn't gonna help y'know!"

Ryu took a deep breath, before addressing his leader. "Well, what do you suggest we do, Damien?"

The crimson haired lad got off from his bed, and presented a solution. "I've heard Beacon Academy has opened up the swimming pool for business, so I suggest we all head over there to cool off. Sound good?"

Ryu closed his book and nodded. "I think that sounds like an excellent idea."

Gwen smiled. "Yeah, good idea Damien!'

Neos scratched the back of his head, before agreeing. "True. I guess it might work out." He turned towards Ryu and Gwen. "Hey guys, I wanna apologize for losing my cool there."

"No need to worry, Neos. After all, I think we all need to beat this heat." Ryu smiled, as Damien sighed out of relief that this conflict was resolved.

"That reminds me, don't you think we should invite Team RWBY and Team JNPR to the pool with us?" Gwen pondered.

"Oh yeah, good thought Gwen!" Damien nodded, as he took out his scroll. "I'll message Yang!"

"And I'll ask Pyrrha!" Gwen said as they texted the other teams. The four of them exited the dorm, before walking towards the academy pool.

Team DRGN had changed into their respective swimwear before meeting up at the deck. Damien had changed into a pair of dark blue trunks that had a vertical crimson design on each side; Ryu was wearing a longer pair of swim shorts that was grey with a blue stripe; Neos was wearing black swim trunks with a thunderbolt on each side of the backside, while his shorts were longer than Damien's and shorter than Ryu's; and Gwen was wearing a two-piece swimsuit that was white at the top and light-blue on the bottom, accompanied with a light-blue towel.

The team examined the pool zone, as they noticed several students already having tons of fun. "Wow, this place sure is lively!" Gwen commented.

"It's not surprising, especially considering the weather." Team DRGN looked up to see Professor Goodwitch watching over the pool. Glynda was wearing a one-piece purple and black swimsuit that was white in the centre. She was wearing a sunhat, and shade attachments on her glasses.

"Professor Goodwitch, I wasn't expecting you to supervise." Neos commented.

Glynda adjusted her sunglasses, before nodding. "Of course. Just because I'm a professor doesn't mean I don't get time to relax." She brought out her riding crop, before addressing. "Just don't cause any trouble around here, or there **will** be trouble!"

"She's not kidding. I mean, you should have seen how she booted Team CRDL out of here." The four saw Jaune and Ren walking towards the group. Jaune had white swim trunks with a goldenrod colour of his Huntsman emblem included, while Ren wore a pair of dark green shorts with a magenta stripe.

"Hey, you two. I assume you're still waiting for the girls?" Damien asked.

"Yup, sure are." Ren said. "And speaking of which..." He said as he pointed to the girls approaching.

"Hello boys..." Everyone turned to face the other half of the group, as Damien's, Neos', and Jaune's jaws nearly fell off. Ruby was wearing a red one piece swimsuit with a pink rose on the right-side of her stomach; Weiss had a white two-piece frilled swimsuit; Blake was wearing a high-neck black two piece swimsuit; Yang had a golden coloured bikini that had a dark version of her flame symbol on the right side of her top; Pyrrha was also wearing a bikini that had a bronze colouring similar to her Huntress outfit; and Nora had a two piece swimsuit that consisted of a long pink top measuring down to her belly button and a white bottom.

"Whoa... I mean, wow!" Damien said, as Yang made her way to her flabbergasted boyfriend.

"Hey there, big boy. Like what you see?" The blonde smirked, while running her fingers down the crimson haired lad's muscular upper body.

"Oh yeah." Damien stated with the goofiest grin on his face, while looking at his girlfriend's 'gauntlets'. "You're certainly hotter than the sun in the middle of July." He commented, causing Yang to giggle, before they shared a kiss.

"Pfft! How cheesy." Neos snarkered.

"Says the guy with thunderbolts on his butt!" Damien retorted.

The ex-rogue scoffed at that remark. "Oh please, you're just jealous!" He said with a wiggle of his hips.

"I think it looks cool!" Ruby cheered, while bumping her booty against her boyfriend's behind, causing his face to redden.

Neos regained his composure before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Heh, well your swimsuit's pretty cute." He chuckled, which caused Ruby to blush.

As for Pyrrha, she was at a loss for words when she saw Jaune in a swimsuit. "Um Pyrrha, are you feeling all right?" Jaune asked, while at the same time, he was affixed onto her well-toned body.

"Oh, um... I'm fine!" The gladiator replied swiftly, her face beet red.

"My goodness, is the mighty Pyrrha speechless?" Neos taunted, which caused her to flick his head. "D'oh!"

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha quickly apologized.

Neos chuckled again, while rubbing his head. "It's okay, I had it coming..."

Everyone else chuckled, before getting back on topic. "Man, it sure was a good idea to suggest going to the pool, Damien." Yang smirked. "I've been wanting to take a dip for quite a while!"

"No problem, Yang!" Damien smirked back. "Say, how good of a swimmer are you?"

"Oh, I'm pretty okay with it. Why do you ask?" The blonde asked.

The crimson haired lad pointed to the deep end of the pool. "How about a little race?"

"You're on!" Yang grinned, as the two made their way to the decks.

Ryu sighed, as he shook his head in disbelief. "Here they go again."

"It's hard to tell if they're lovers or star-crossed rivals." Weiss commented.

Neos made his way to the corner to start the countdown, as Damien and Yang got into position. As soon as he finished, the two of them dove headfirst into the pool, as they swam as fast as they could. After reaching the other side, they swam back to the start, with the outcome being... you guessed it; another tie!

After finishing the race, the two of them poked their heads out of the water, gasping for air. "Sheesh, another draw. How do you guys keep ending up like this?" Ruby pondered.

"It's almost like we're equals!" Damien stated, as Yang nodded.

"Hey, I got no complaints! Because that's exactly what keeps me going." Yang smiled, as she moved closer towards the crimson haired lad.

Before the moment could go any further, there was a huge splash between them, as Nora cannonballed into the pool, drenching the two fighter's heads.

Neos laughed out loud when he saw that. "Nice dive bomb there, Nora!" He called out towards the bubbly girl.

"C'mon Neos, we can make a bigger splash than that!" Ruby declared, as she ran towards the pool, while dragging Neos behind her.

The ex-rogue's eyes widened, when he saw himself being pulled towards the pool. "W-wait Ruby, I don't wanna go in like that- *gurgle*." But it was too late, as Ruby jumped into the pool, with Neos falling in as well.

Ruby bobbed her head out the water, cheering. "Woo! That was so much fun! Right Neos?"

Neos poked his head out, showing that his traditionally spiked hairstyle was ruined. Everyone couldn't hold in their laughter when they saw the ex-rogue pouting with his hair covering his eyes. "Urgh, do you have any idea how hard it is to keep this fohawk standing up like this?!" He grunted.

"I'm sorry..." Ruby gave her boyfriend the puppy dog eyes.

Neos tried to resist, but no matter what, he just couldn't. "Oh, come on, I didn't mean that! Besides, that was actually pretty cool." He reassured her, as Ruby quickly hugged him.

Everyone else laughed, as they were enjoying the fun. Blake brought out a book from her bag, before addressing the group on the deck. "Well, if you need me, I'll just read my novel."

"But Blake, I thought cats aren't a fan of water..." Weiss wondered.

"Yes, I'm aware of it. But that's why I have this!" She explained while pulling out an inflatable raft. She turned to Ryu, with a sheepish look. "Um, if you would..."

The samurai rolled his eyes, before putting his fingers around the tube. With his semblance, he was able to quickly inflate the raft, before plugging it up. "There you go, all set."

"Phew, thanks Ryu." Blake smiled, as she carefully placed the raft into the pool, before leaping onto it, hanging onto it while making sure not to set a single toe into the water.

"Well, I guess I'll go in for a while." Ren commented, as he dove into the water. Ryu, Gwen, and Weiss decided to wait before going in the water.

"Jaune, don't you want to go for a swim?" Pyrrha asked.

"Um, I'd rather not..." Jaune nervously spoke. "I don't feel like it."

"Why not?" Neos asked, while sitting on the edge. "What are you, scared? Don't worry about it. Blake's afraid of it!" He joked, trying to make him feel better.

"And yet, you were moody about getting your hair wet." Blake retorted.

"Watch it, kitty cat, I can claw back!" He shouted, as they glared at each other.

"Jaune, what's the matter?" Damien wondered.

Jaune sighed, before explaining. "It's just... I don't know how to swim! I never really learned how."

Expecting some ridicule, Jaune was got off-guard when he felt Pyrrha placing a hand on his Jaune. "Jaune, there's no shame in not knowing how to swim."

"Exactly. There are many others who don't know how." Damien assured the blonde knight.

"In fact, I can teach you if you'd like!" Pyrrha offered.

"Really? That would be great!" Jaune cheered, before accidentally falling into the water, much to everyone's surprise.

"Jaune!" The gladiator screamed, when she saw Jaune flailing helplessly, before sinking in. Luckily, Damien dove downwards and rescued him, wrapping Jaune's arm around his shoulder for support. Pyrrha sighed out of relief, before making her way into the water. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Jaune sighed, as he made his way over to his partner. Pyrrha held Jaune's hands as he began his swimming lesson. After a while, Yang made her way over to Blake, while leaning over on the Faunus' raft. "Man, time flies when you're having fun!" The blonde cheered. "C'mon Blake, you should get in the water!"

Blake, who was currently taking a catnap on the raft, faced her with a quizzical look. "That's okay, I'll pass." She bluntly stated. However, before she knew it, she was tipped overboard by Yang. She faced her with a icy glare. "Yang, why the hell did you do that?!"

Yang waved it off, before giggling. "Come now, you've been on the raft for the past two hours; it's time for a swim!" Yang laughed, until she was splashed by Blake. Now Blake was giggling before a splash fight between the two fighters broke out.

The two of them were having fun, before something peculiar was gliding in the water. "EEK! Shark!" Blake screamed, gaining everyone's attention, including Professor Goodwitch's. She whipped out her riding crop, and telepathically grabbed the 'shark.' However, it was merely Neos, as Glynda sighed in frustration while dropping the ex-rogue back into the water.

"Neos! What are you doing?!" Yang glared.

"What? Ruby and I were just trying to see how long we could stay underwater for!" He explained, as Ruby popped out, waving towards them.

Damien made his way towards them, while staring at Neos' fohawk, which was staying up for some reason. "How exactly did you manage to keep your hair standing like that?" He asked, while pointing at it.

Neos smirked before addressing the situation. "Well you see, I didn't want my hair to droop down, so I used that bottle over there to keep it that way!" He pointed to a bottle on the deck.

Ryu grabbed the bottle, and examined it, before facing him. "Neos, this is super glue..."

"Yeah, I know..." Neos shrugged.

"Wait, how does super glue even keep it from falling in the water?" Pyrrha wondered.

"Simple, I used a lot of glue!" The ex-rogue stated.

Despite the lack of logic in it, everyone decided to carry on with the day. After a while of fun, the large group of twelve concluded their time at the pool with a few rounds of water polo. Afterwards, Professor Goodwitch announced that the pool was now closed for the day.

"Wow, that sure was a blast!" Weiss commended. "I'm so glad we got to come here!"

"Likewise!" Pyrrha added, before addressing Jaune. "You sure are a fast learner, Jaune!"

Jaune chuckled, before wrapping his arm around her. "Well, it helps that I've got a great tutor!" He answered, giving the gladiator a peck on the cheek, causing her to blush.

"Y'know, we really need something to remember this kick-ass day; like a group selfie!" Nora commented.

"That sounds like a good idea!" Gwen smiled. "But who's going to take our picture?"

"Perhaps I can do that!" Professor Goodwitch explained, taking out her scroll.

"Really Professor Goodwitch? You would do that for us?" Damien asked.

Glynda smiled, before addressing the crimson haired lad. "Of course, Mr. Crimson. After all, it's clear as any dust crystal that you twelve have such an inseparable friendship! Plus, maybe the summer heat had loosened me up a bit." She chuckled, as everyone got together for the photo. After taking the photo, she made sure to send a copy to everyone's scrolls as everyone exited the pool.

* * *

 **Whew, that was a 'hot' chapter, wasn't it? I don't really know how everyone's swimsuits would actually look in this, but whatever, if you don't like it, use your imaginations or something :P. If you're wondering why I made Goodwitch as the lifeguard, it's probably because I'm sure a lot of you would probably like to see her in a swimsuit or something, instead of Port or Oobleck. (Ozpin's kind of a different story, but I went with Glynda; you're welcome!) I'm still working on the grand plot for this story, so in the meantime, I hope you guys like these small one-chapter adventures, and I hope your summer is going well.**


	39. Chapter 37: A True Test of Faith

**What's up, folks? It's another chapter here once again, and this time, Ryu and Gwen get the main attention here. Actually, it's just Team DRGN here. Since I've usually had them together with either Team RWBY, JNPR, or both, I've never had a chapter dedicated to just the four of them. Here, some familiar faces (like from the first chapter) show up here. Here goes!**

* * *

It was exam time for Academies across Renmant, as everyone was working hard to pass their tests. The professors of Beacon have tested their students on a multiple of subjects, whether it'd be history, or Huntsmen training. Team DRGN finished their tests once Neos completed the physical portion of his exam.

"Well done, Mr. Xanthos. Your combat skills are exemplary." Professor Goodwitch commended him. "Although, I'd appreciate it if your conducted yourself with a little more professionalism."

"Meh, as long as I pass." The ex-rogue shrugged, as Glynda rolled her eyes before addressing the whole class.

"In any case, you've all done a fine job on your exams. You each have your own strengths and weaknesses, but as you continue to train here, you will be able to overcome it." She concluded. "Class dismissed!"

Meanwhile, back at Team DRGN's room, the four of them were exhausted from the constant testing. "Phew! Man, those exams were brutal..." Damien groaned, lying on his bed.

"Tell me about it. Even after all those hours of studying, it was next to impossible." Ryu nodded.

"Well, at least now we have some time to relax." Gwen pointed out, before there was an inevitable knock on the door.

Neos sighed. "You had to say that, didn't you?"

Damien opened the doors, and was surprised to see Professor Goodwitch standing outside. "Professor? What brings you here?"

"Professor Ozpin wishes to see the four of you." She addressed them.

Damien looked over to Neos. "Neos, what did you do this time?" The crimson haired lad wondered as he narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, I didn't do nothin'! You can't prove anything!" The ex-rogue shouted.

"Relax, Mr. Crimson. Nobody's in any trouble." The professor explained, as she pointed towards Ryu and Gwen. "There's someone here to see you, Mr. Yahto, and you too, Miss Charrlotteton."

Team DRGN was surprised by this revelation, before they eventually followed her to the headmaster's office.

Once they entered, Ozpin turned around around to greet them. "Hello there children, I know that I call you in here more often than I should, and I do apologize."

Damien held up a hand. "Don't sweat it, Professor. What's this about?"

Ozpin nodded, before two older men approach, much to the shock of Ryu and Gwen. "I believe these two gentlemen can answer that?"

"Uncle Fūjin?" Ryu muttered.

"F-Father?!" Gwen shouted.

Frost smiled, as his daughter ran up to embrace him. "Hello Gwen, my dear! I'm so happy to see again."

Fūjin bowed in respect to Ryu, as he did the same. "As am I, Ryu. It seems you are doing quite well."

"Wait, I'm still lost here. What exactly is going on?!" Neos demanded to know. "How exactly do you two know each other?"

Frost looked up to answer him. "Well, it was actually a few weeks ago, during the Beacon Team Tournament that was broadcasted, where we watched from downtown."

Fūjin then chimed in. "Afterwards, the two of us started discussing tales about our children, and what they've accomplished."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Damien chuckled. "But it still doesn't explain why you're here today."

The two elderly men glanced towards one another before Ryu's uncle dropped the truth. "The reason we've come to here is because... We've decided to pull you out of Beacon Academy!"

All four teens were shocked at the reason for their visit. "WHAT?!" They all shouted.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Neos yelled. "What kind of stupid reason is that?!"

"For once, I agree with Neos. For what reason do you try and remove us from our school?!" Ryu demanded to know.

"Settle down, my boy." Fūjin sternly spoke. "We have been aware of the many dangerous missions that you've been sent to, and quite frankly, this sort of irresponsibility is unacceptable! After all, what if you were to be cut down? You are the remaining member of your family clan!"

"But you've been training us our entire lives for this moment, and now you just want to take it all away?!" Gwen rose her voice. "Please father, you can't do this! Not after everything we've been through..." She spoke, as she started to cry.

"Now Gwen, my dear. I'm sorry, but the decision is final. You're coming home with me right now." Frost solemnly declared. "Let's go!"

Neos turned towards Ozpin, and slammed his hands on his desk. "And you're seriously going to let this happen?!"

"Believe me, Mr. Xanthos, I've tried everything in my power to convince these men otherwise." Ozpin calmly stated. "However, it would seem that they've made up their minds."

As the two parental figures started to head for the exit, Damien blocked the exit. "Hold it right there! Nobody is going anywhere!" He angrily shouted, much to the surprise of the two men, and the rest of Team DRGN.

"Young man, I suggest you step aside right now!" Fūjin ordered.

"The four of us have fought hard through Beacon Academy as one team, we've all engaged in fun activities, and as we've spent more and more time together, our bonds have grown into something much bigger." The crimson haired leader explained. "And there is absolutely no way I'm letting you take them away from us!"

"Damien..." Ryu mouthed.

"I can understand how much you treasure each other very much, but we've made our choice. It's for the best." Frost tried to reason with him, but to no avail.

"I DON'T CARE!" Damien roared. "Ryu and Gwen are the best teammates me and Neos could have ever asked for, and I'll gladly fight to keep them here!"

Gwen was shocked at how she heard. "Damien, are you actually challenging my father and Ryu's uncle?!"

Damien looked at the two men, before nodding. "Yes. Yes I am, Gwen! I'm not letting them take them away from us."

"And that goes double for me!" Everyone turned to see Neos standing tall, fist up in the air. "There's no way in hell you geezers are taking away some of the best pals I've ever had, whatever concerns that you have!"

Ryu and Gwen were both speechless at their friend's courage, before Fūjin spoke up. "Very well then, I accept your challenge! How about you, Frost?" He asked him, as he nodded.

"Not so fast, uncle!" Ryu stopped him. "I'll take the challenge in place of Damien!"

"What's this?" Damien was surprised. "Ryu, are you sure about this?"

"I'm positive, Damien." the young samurai nodded. "Seeing you stand up against my uncle, you've shown just how far you'd go for us. So, now I shall do the same; I've decided that I'll face him head on!"

Gwen was amazed by Ryu's display, before she spoke up. "And so will I! Ryu, Damien, and Neos are the greatest people I've have the fortune to meet, and I will gladly show you just how far our bonds have gotten us!"

Neos smirked, before shrugging. "I have no problems with that. Damien?"

Damien nodded. "Yeah, ne neither."

After the challenge was issued, Ozpin arose from his seat. "All right then, now that that's settled, let's make our way to the battle arena, shall we?"

Once the four fighters were on the field, with Damien and Neos watching from the spectator's stand, Ryu and Gwen stared down their parental figures.

"Hmph, I hope that for your sake, your training at this facility will help you win." Fūjin said, as he drew his own katana.

"It will, uncle. I will not lose!" Ryu responded, as he took out his Yahto Blade.

Gwen readied her Iceborn bow. "You'll see just what I'm really capable of, father!"

Frost grinned, as he brought out a sword and shield that looked like it was made of ice. "Then make me proud, Gwen!"

The tension was dispelled when Ozpin made his way to the center, as he went over the rules for this match. "This will be a two on two match between students and former mentors. First and foremost, this match will have a time limit of five minutes!" He explained, to the shock of Team DRGN. "This match will be over when one person on either side runs out of aura within the given time limit. In the event that time runs out, whichever side has the higher aura levels wins!" He concluded, as he set up the timer on the scoreboard hanging on the ceiling. And with that, the headmaster left the arena to take his seat beside Damien and Neos.

"Geez, you sure love being mysterious, don't you?" Damien muttered.

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Crimson?" Ozpin asked.

"Oh come on now; a five minute time limit? Ryu and Gwen can't handle this kind of handicap!" Neos exclaimed. "Seriously, who's side are you on exactly?"

"I assure you, I'm not against anyone. And quite frankly, you should have more faith in your teammates, Mr. Xanthos." The headmaster pointed out to the ex-rogue. "If you truly believe in them, then you should have nothing to worry about."

"Professor Ozpin's right, Neos. They've got this!" The crimson haired lad added.

"Now, commence the duel!" Ozpin ordered, as the buzzer rang and the timer commenced. Ryu and Fūjin clashed blades, while Frost's shield blocked any incoming ice arrows that Gwen fired. Gwen then decided to call forth her giant ice knight, to strike down her father.

"Ah, I see your summoning has improved dramatically, but don't forget that is was I who taught you that technique!" Frost pointed out, as he summoned an ice knight of his own.

"Oh boy, this ain't good..." Neos grumbled.

Frost's ice elemental was able to match Gwen's elemental hit for hit, however, he was able to gain the upper hand as he started to push his daughter back. Gwen tried her hardest to attack her father's elemental, but soon after it fell, it exploded into a blast of ice, knocking the archer back, while freezing her in her place.

"Gwen!" Damien shouted.

As for Ryu, his swordfight against his uncle was no better. Ryu's sword technique was no match for Fūjin's strength. With each strike that Ryu tried to land, his uncle would either parry or dodge. The elderly samurai slashed at him upwards, generating a large wind wave, sending him flying towards his partner.

"Is this all you have to offer?" Fūjin shook his head disapprovingly. "I was expecting a better display of skill."

"Ryu! Oh no!" Gwen cried, as she held Ryu up. "It's... It's all over. We can't win..." Tears started rolling her face, as she saw the timer was at two minutes. "We're running low on time. I've failed you... I'm so sorry!"

"No Gwen, it was I who failed you..." Ryu muttered.

"HEY!" The two looked up to see Damien standing tall. "Don't even think of throwing in the towel! You guys have the best co-ordination that I've ever seen, and I'll be damned if you two lose here today!"

"Yeah! If you fail and get taken away, I will never forgive either of you!" Neos added, much to their surprise. "So man up, and take those old fools down!"

"But... what can we do at this point?" Gwen asked.

Ryu thought for a moment, before coming up with one last plan. "Hmm, I have one idea that just might work, but I'll need your assistance, Gwen."

"Of course, Ryu. What do you have in mind?"

"Do you have enough strength to summon your ice knight once more?" The samurai asked.

The archer was befuddled by his question, but answered back. "Well yes, but it won't last long."

"That's quite alright. Summon it between the two of them." He commanded her, as she complied, calling forth her familiar back onto the field.

"What in the world?" Frost questioned. "Gwen's elemental was already defeated! What's it doing back here?"

Before his question could be answered, Ryu shot forth a large tornado that surrounded the worn out ice knight.

"What the heck are they up to?" Neos wondered, but Damien was intrigued by their plan.

"Now Gwen! You know what to do!" Ryu ordered. Gwen wasn't sure where he was heading, but immediately figured it out. With a wave of her hand, she ordered her familiar to explode in a huge explosion of ice. The explosion widened the tornado's radius, turning it into a huge blizzard trap, engulfing both Frost and Fūjin.

"Ryu! Look out!" Gwen shouted as a barrage of ice was about to pelt him, but thankfully, the frost archer generated an ice shield to block the attack.

After the ice storm subsided, the timer buzzer went off. "Time's up!" Ozpin announced. As everyone turned to measure the aura levels, the person who had the highest level was... Ryu Yahto! "It appears that Ryu's aura level is the highest out of everyone else's, which means that this match goes to Ryu Yahto and Gwen Charrlotteton!"

Damien and Neos were ecstatic at their pals' victory, as they rushed down to congratulate them.

"Ryu... We did it! We won!" Gwen cheered. "That was an amazing strategy." She said, as she embraced him.

"Thank you, Gwen. But I could not have pulled it off without your help." Ryu smiled, as he moved a strand of her hair away from her face. "You're the greatest partner I could have ever asked for."

"And I you, Ryu." She whispered back, as the two of them shared a warm kiss.

"Way to go, guys! That was the best display of teamwork I've ever seen!" Damien ran up to hug the group, followed by Neos.

"Yeah! You guys rock!" Neos commended.

"I have to agree. You two were something out there, well done." Fūjin congratulated the pair, as he and Frost approached them.

"Hold on just a minute, you two!" Damien questioned the duo. "What's the real reason for coming here?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Frost asked.

"You claimed that you want you wanted to bring back Ryu and Gwen because it was too dangerous, but as I said before, that's a stupid reason!" Neos reminded them. "It just doesn't add up."

The two men looked at each other, before complying. "All right, you want to know the truth? We never had any intention of taking our children away. The fact of the matter is, we wanted to battle you to help overcome the issues that you had before." Fūjin explained to them.

All four teens were confused by that statement. "I don't understand, uncle." Ryu stated.

"You see, we were watching your performances during the exams." Frost explained. "While we noticed you all have a strong bond, there exists a few obstacles that block the full level of trust that can co-exist in a team."

Everyone listened carefully as Fūjin continued. "You four can accomplish a lot as a team, but you need to make sure that you don't let your feelings stand in the way of achieving that goal. Hence, that is why we asked for Ozpin to arrange for this duel."

"I see. That's why you tricked us into making us think you were leaving." Gwen realized. "So that we would stand up for each other."

"Precisely! I am sorry I had to deceive you like this, Gwen. But I just want to know just how proud I am of you! You've come so far." Frost proudly said, as the two shared a hug; as did Ryu and Fūjin.

"Well, I guess now we can improve together now." Damien declared. "So, how about the four of us go and do some special training? Who knows, we may just learn some new techniques." He asked, as Ryu, Gwen, and Neos cheered, before dashing out of the arena. Whatever obstacles may lurk between Team DRGN, they will take them down, so that the maximum amount of teamwork and faith can co-exist with each other.

* * *

 **And there you go, that was a chapter. I know it's real simple, but the thing is, I had this idea for a really long time, and while it kept changing constantly, I didn't know how it would turn up. Maybe I'm just running low on story-writing steam. Regardless, I'll see you later.**


	40. Saga Preview

**Hello everyone, I don't usually do this, but I just thought I'd give you all a preview of the grand plot that I've been saving for a very, long time. It's probably not going to come immediately, but it's still a work-in-progress.**

* * *

 **In the Atlas Military Headquarters**

A scroll rings, as someone answers it. "Professor Qrow, is that you?" Lieutenant Ivan Stone spoke into his scroll.

"Yeah kid, it's me." The voice responded back. "Listen, there's something I gotta share!"

 **Beacon Academy, Aura-Training Class**

"Whoa!" Neos commented, when he saw a pair of flame-wings appearing from Damien's back, as he shot into the sky.

"What was that?!" Ruby remarked, as Teams RWBY and JNPR were shocked at what they were witnessing.

 **Atlas Holding Cell #3V1L**

"Well, fancy seeing you here, Victor..." Roman Torchwick smirked devilishly.

"Hah! I still have a few tricks up my sleeves." Victor Blaze scoffed. "These fools cannot stop me..."

"Is that so? Well, perhaps we can make a deal?" A mysterious black-haired woman in a red dress spoke up from in front of the cell.

"Hey, step away from the cell!" Elijah shouted, as he and Ellie fired at the intruder.

 **Ozpin's office**

"Are you out of your mind, Qrow?! Or is that the liquor talking?" Glynda shouted.

"If I was drunk, you'd be prettier by now." Qrow retorted to the angered Professor, before General Ironwood intervened.

"Regardless of what it may seem, if what he says is true, we may have a huge problem on our hands." The general grimly stated.

 **Beacon Academy Grounds**

A mysterious masked-woman with a komodo-dragon tail is lying unconscious. Damien removes the masks, and falls backwards in absolute shock. "W-What?! No..." He backs up, his eyes close to tears. "How is this POSSIBLE?!"

"D-Damien? What's wrong?" Yang asked, concerned for her boyfriend's behaviour.

 **Unknown world**

Cinder, Adam Taurus, Victor Blaze, and the rest of her faction walk towards a house that materializes out of nowhere. They enter as they come across a being of complete darkness that addresses them. "Well now, it's been quite a while since I had visitors. In fact, it's never." The voice chuckled. "So, to what do I owe this visit?" Everyone was at unease, except for Cinder and Victor.

* * *

 **Bada-boom! I do hope that was something to behold. As I said, It's still a work-in-progress, so I'm still trying to work out all the kinks. Also, I wanna thank you all for how much support this story has gotten; 100,000 works, 10,000 views, 17 favourites, and 21 follows! Take care everybody!**


	41. Chapter 38: Expanding Power

**Greetings ladies and gentleman, I am back with a new chapter here. In this chapter, I thought it would be a good idea to show off Team DRGN's true potential, seeing as they are the main characters in this story. That is why I decided to give each member a new technique; an extension of their semblances so to speak. Enjoy!**

* * *

Training was a plenty here in Professor Goodwitch's class; as many matches were held, with each student demonstrating their skills learned from Beacon Academy. Ozpin, who was also watching the performance, was intrigued with what was going on.

"All right, we have time for one last match." Glynda said, while searching through her tablet. "So, Mr. Crimson and Ms. Nikos, if you two would..."

Before Damien and Pyrrha could come down to the arena, Ozpin spoke up. "Just a minute, Professor."

Professor Goodwitch looked up from her handheld to face her boss. "Sir?"

"I've been watching everyone's progression rather carefully, and after all I have witness thus far, there is one match-up that I wish to see." The headmaster explained. "Team DRGN, could you please come down?" Damien, Ryu, Gwen, and Neos were all surprised as they rose from their seats to meet on center stage. "I want you to face off against each other in a tag team match-up of your choosing!"

"Say what?!" Neos shouted as everyone, including their friends, were surprised at Ozpin's request. However, after getting over it, the four of agreed to the match-up; with Damien and Neos going up against Ryu and Gwen. After all, they've all been training so hard lately, that they have managed to learn some new techniques.

"All right, I guess there's nothing wrong against facing off against good pals, especially teammates!" Damien smirked.

"That is true. Plus, we all can learn from each other's moves, for better synchronization between us." Ryu nodded.

"Go Damien. You got this!" Yang cheered.

"Yeah, show 'em who's boss, Neos!" Ruby added.

"Come on, Ryu. You can do it!" Jaune yelled.

"Do your best, Gwen!" Pyrrha commended.

As the match started, Neos dashed towards Ryu and slashed at him with his Claws of Mjolnir. The blue haired samurai parried the ex-rogue's attacks with his Yahto Blade and retaliated with an upward slash, to which Neos did a backwards handstand jump to avoid. Meanwhile, Damien was dodging a large volley of ice arrows that Gwen fired at the crimson haired lad with her IceBorn Bow. After deflecting an arrow at point-blank range, Damien shot a torrent of flames from his Twin Dragon Fangs, which the young archer matched with a mini blizzard. Fire and ice collided, as a resulting large cloud of mist shrouded the arena.

With everyone's vision obscured from the fog, Damien turned his attention towards Ryu, as he aimed his flamethrower gauntlets towards him. Neos saw his pal's idea and decided to pitch in and shoot a bolt of electricity at Ryu. Ryu saw the fire and lightning coming at him from both directions, as he tossed his Yahto Blade high into the air. After making some quick hand-movements, he created a strong wind-shield around him, completely negating the damage from the range blows.

"Wow!" Blake shouted in surprise.

"I'll say. Talk about a well-executed defensive strategy." Ren nodded.

Ryu dispelled the wind-shield while clearing the fog; afterwards, he caught his blade. Damien was impressed by his teammate's new technique. "Damn. Not bad, Ryu."

Ryu smiled. "Thank you, Damien. It's a small idea that I came up with after The Tag Team Tournament."

Gwen spoke up. "If you thought that was great, let me show you something I've been practicing." She sheathed her bow before performing a small dance, her hands glowing light-blue. After the ritual finished, she waved her arms up, as two ice-versions of herself were summoned behind her.

"WHAAAAAAAAA-?!" Weiss squealed. "How did she do that?"

"It's a technique my mother once performed, to show off one's inner strength!" Gwen explained. She and her ice-clones took aim upwards, as they fired a large volley of arrows; her ice-apparitions following the original one's every movements.

"Oh crap! Incoming!" Neos shouted. "Quick Damien, get behind me!" Damien obeyed, as Neos got into position. His body started coursing with electricity, as he started to breakdance, thereby generating a back-shield of lightning that completely destroyed the arrows.

"Wow! He sure can dance!" Nora whooped.

"Man, everyone's shown some awesome new moves!" Yang smiled. "I wonder what Damien's got under his sleeve?"

"Good job, Neos!" Damien complimented his pal. "Now, let's kick things up a notch!" The crimson haired lad charged himself up, as his fists and feet were coated in flames. Damien charged towards the bladed duo, as Damien defeated one of Gwen's ice clones, which shattered upon being punched. Neos dashed towards Ryu and performed his spinning drill, to which he had little time to react. However, Gwen order her other ice-clone to take the hit, which also shattered once defeated.

After several minutes of combat, Ryu got in the middle of the two melee experts, as Gwen generated an ice-clone of Ryu. The two samurais stood back-to-back as they created a large ice tornado, which knocked the two boys aside. The ice-clone disappeared, as Ryu created a large tornado towards Damien, to which Gwen added onto it with a mini blizzard. The large ice-tornado completely engulfed Damien and Neos, as they struggled to break free.

"Damien!" Yang shouted. "C'mon, you can do it." She rooted for him to break free.

Damien and Neos were still trying to stand on their feet, while being pelted with ice shards from multiple directions. "Damn, things aren't looking so good..." Neos grumbled.

"And I don't have enough power to break free." Damien said.

"Come on man. You gotta dig deep, find your inner strength!" Neos assured his pal.

Damien closed his eyes and concentrated. He crouched down as he spread his arms, trying to draw in as much power as he could. After a while, his body started giving off a bright crimson glow. "What in the world?" Ryu was surprised as he and Gwen saw the light shining in the ice-tornado.

"Whoa!" Neos commented, as he saw a pair of flame-wings showing up behind Damien's back, as he shot upwards into the sky, while at the same time, completely cancelling out the tornado. Everyone was surprised as Damien swiftly descended, slamming the ground hard with his fist, causing a large explosion in the arena.

"What was that?!" Ruby shouted, as both Team RWBY and JNPR were shocked at what they had witnessed. Professor Goodwitch was at a loss for words, while Ozpin gave an intrigued look at the boy's true power. After the large dust clouds cleared out, all members of Team DRGN were knocked down, while they slowly got back up.

Glynda regained her composure, before she decided to call it. "Well now, that was... certainly something. In any case, I think now is a good time to end this match." She adjusted her glasses before addressing Team DRGN. "The four of you have all displayed a tremendous amount of skill and power; especially you, Mr. Crimson."

"Yeah, that was a hell of a show!" Neos shouted, while patting Damien's shoulder. Afterwards, Ryu and Gwen commended him, as well as Teams RWBY and JNPR.

"Oh come now, all I did was find my inner strength!" Damien replied. "Although, to be honest, I actually have no idea how that even happened..." He muttered to himself.

Ozpin, who was still standing in the sidelines, was greeted by his subordinate. "Well sir, I can certainly see why you wanted to see them in action. They have all done so well; although I still don't know what happened back there..." She scrolled through the results, while examining Damien's aura level.

Ozpin chuckled as he took a sip from his mug. "Simple, Ms. Goodwitch. It would seem that Mr. Crimson's true power is starting to awaken."

* * *

 **And there you have it, Team DRGN is rocking some new moves. First is Damien's new move, to which the animation is inspired by Dragon Slayer Pantheon's Ult. It is a super-powerful move similar to the one used against the Grimmzodia in Chapter 19. Next is Ryu's new move, which is similar to Master Yi's meditate ability; it is a defensive technique that shields any and all attacks towards him, before repelling them. Gwen's new ability is a cloning ability, which I assure you is different from the others; since not only can she generate up to two ice clones of herself or any ally of her choosing, but they can copy their exact movement in perfect harmony. Finally, Neos' new technique is similar to Ash's Pikachu in the anime, where he breakdances to create an electric shield to block any projectiles from multiple directions. And finally, this chapter is essential to the grand plot that I am still trying to work on. In the meantime, just hang tight and thanks for reading.**


	42. Chapter 39: An Unexpected Guest

**Hello yet again folks, I am already back with another new chapter made. It's a long chapter and quite frankly, this was a hard one to make because as I have stated before, whenever I try to be deep, it makes the story complicated and confusing to some. Regardless, I want to do this, no, I WILL do this! In this chapter, someone unexpected makes an appearance; but if you've read the saga preview, chances are that you might have an idea as to who it is. Without further delay, let it be done!**

* * *

The gentle afternoon breeze flew through the campus, as Damien and Yang were standing under the giant tree in the garden, with their lips locked in a tender kiss.

"*Sigh* This is nice." Yang simply said with a warm smile.

"I know. I've never met such a truly wonderful girl such as you." Damien smiled back. "You really are one-in-a-million, Yang."

The blonde boxer replied back, as she reached into her pocket. "Thank you, Damien. There's no other boyfriend I'd rather have in my life than you. That's why I got you something." She pulled out a necklace that had a golden sun medallion in the centre, with a crimson dragon border around it.

The crimson haired lad's eyes widen in surprise. "Whoa! Where did you get such a thing?!"

Yang giggled, as she attached the necklace around her boyfriend's neck. "While me and my team were out in downtown Vale, I stopped by the jewelry store to have this custom-made!" She opened the pendant to reveal a small-frame. "Look, it also doubles as a mini photo compartment!"

"Oh my, that must have cost a fortune!" Damien smiled, before pouting a little bit. "I wish I could have gotten you something, but I'm flat broke... But even so, I promise to get you something in return!"

Yang waved it off, before smirking back. "No worries, Damien; I'm not in any rush to get anything. I'm just glad that you enjoy my gift."

Damien smiled heavily as he tightly embraced his gal. "I love it! Thanks, Yang. You're the greatest girlfriend I could ever ask for."

The two of them resumed their make-out session in peace, with no interruptions. However, what they didn't realize was that someone was about to receive an unexpected visit; as a masked stranger rustled out of the bushes before reappearing and collapsing in front of the two brawlers.

"What in the world?" Damien saw as the stranger fainted. He and Yang rushed towards the person. The stranger was a woman who was wearing a dark-red mini kimono with black stockings, a collapsible/extendable imperial spear; and a Noh mask. Not only that, but this woman had long silken crimson hair, and a thin komodo-dragon tail.

"I've never seen such a woman like her before." Yang thought out loud. "Any ideas?" She turned to see Damien being unusually quiet. "Damien? Is everything okay?"

Damien's hand was trembling, as he slowly removed the mask. When he saw the woman's face, he fell back in absolute shock. "W-What?! No!" He backed up in fear, his eye's close to tears.

"D-Damien? What's wrong?" Yang asked, worried for her boyfriend's sake. "Who is this woman?"

Damien stood up, before talking. "We need to take her to the infirmary now!" He said in a serious tone. "Let's go!"

Yang was puzzled at Damien's sudden change in demeanor. "What? But you still haven't told me who she is..."

Damien faced Yang with an angry, yet tearful look, before raising his voice. "I said, LET'S GO NOW!" He roared, scaring her a little. Regardless, the two of them helped the woman up as they took her to the Beacon Academy Infirmary.

One hour later, after explaining the situation to Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin, they decided to keep watch over the lady, while Damien and Yang waited outside. Yang texted their friends about the situation as they rushed over to see what was the problem. "Yang! We got your text! What's the problem?!" Blake asked, as Teams RWBY, JNPR and DRGN approached them.

"Damien and I saw this woman falling unconscious, so we helped her over to the infirmary." Yang explained while Damien was staring at a photo. "But when we got here, he pulled out a photo, and he wouldn't stop staring at it!" Damien clutched his head, as he tried not to breakdown. "Damien, you still haven't told me who that woman is! Now out with it, who is she?" She asked.

Damien looked up from the photo and saw everyone giving him a comforting look. He took a deep breath, before he revealed the answer. "That woman over there, the masked stranger we saw in the quad earlier; she is... my mother!" He answered, as everybody else almost did a double take upon hearing it.

"Y-Y-your mother?!" Ruby screamed.

"Wait just a moment!" Weiss demanded. "Didn't you tell us that your mother died?! So, how exactly is she there right now?" She turned towards Neos for an explanation.

The ex-rogue backed off. "What are you looking at me for?! How the hell should I know?" He defended himself. "I'm just as lost in the dark as you are!"

"I was shocked as well." Damien explained. "After all, I never forgot that moment where I saw my mother being gunned down... right in front of my eyes. And yet, the picture doesn't lie." He showed everyone the picture he was gazing at; a family photo of Damien's childhood years, with his mother holding the young lad in her arms, while his father held his wife with one arm. "The hair and the tail don't lie; the woman in that room is the same as the one in this photo. My mother, Hotaru Crimson, is alive!"

"No way, I don't believe it..." Gwen mouthed. "But if she's still alive, then where did she go after that incident?"

"Perhaps she can answer your question." The three teams turned to see Ozpin exiting the infirmary.

"Ozpin! How is she? How is my mother?" Damien asked intensely.

"Your mother is doing just fine, Mr. Crimson." Ozpin assured him. "It would seem that the reason for her fall was due to a severe case of exhaustion. She had travelled very far from here without any pause whatsoever."

"So, can we really go and see Mrs. Crimson?" Jaune wondered.

Ozpin smiled and nodded. "Of course; you may all greet her if you wish."

Everyone got up and was about to enter the room... except for Damien. "Damien, don't you wish to see your mother?" Pyrrha asked, worried.

Damien stared in front of him, before replying. "I... I don't know if I can do it."

"What do you mean you can't?! She's your mom, who wouldn't want to see their own parents?" Nora blurted out, before Ren shushed her.

"Don't you think I know that?!" Damien shouted. "I know she's in there, but part of me still feels like this is a dream, or a nightmare."

Ryu folded his arms and asked his leader to explain. "How so?"

The crimson haired lad sighed before going on. "Seeing my mother here today had just brought up that damned scene from my childhood years; and now looking at this photo makes my mind relive that memory and over again!" Damien continued, as his friends listened carefully. "And now that she has reappeared, what truth will she speak of; whatever it is, I'm... too scared to find out." He slumped down, as tears freely fell down his cheeks. "I can't do it... I just can't!" He cried as he hid his face.

There was silence in the room, as everyone was either tearing up, or hanging their heads in sorrow for their downtrodden pal. "Wow... I've never seen Damien sound so defeated before." Ruby whimpered, her eyes watering up.

"Well, what were you expecting? It's not like Damien's some sort of superhero or anything!" Neos reminded her.

Weiss wiped her eyes before demanding an explanation. "W-what are you talking about?!"

The ex-rogue folded his arms before explaining. "Don't you people get it? It doesn't matter who we are; whether we're some sort of prodigy, a heiress to a family fortune, or a former criminal out for redemption; we all have a dark sadness that we have locked away in our hearts. And no matter how much you try to deny it, even trying to mask that feeling with a happy smile or a cold demeanor, that secret is still ticking away... and when it goes off, your whole façade is broken, and you're nothing more than an empty shell of your former self..." He closed his eyes, trying to not get emotional.

"Neos..." Ruby mumbled sadly, hugging him.

"However! That doesn't mean you can't just hide from the harshness of reality forever!" The ex-rogue continued, slamming his fist into a wall, gaining everyone's attention, including Damien's. "No matter how hard the truth it, you must tackle it head on, so that the healing can begin. Otherwise, you delude yourself in the fantasy that your fear continues to create!"

Ozpin was impressed with Neos' speech, as he commended him. "That was quite the lesson there Mr. Xanthos! From where did you learn such a thing?"

Neos' shrugged as he gave a solumn smile. "It's something I had to learn for myself growing up on the streets."

Yang walked over to Damien, and put her hand on his shoulders. "Neos is right Damien. You can't just distance yourself from the truth. Come on now, I'll stand by your side for as long as you need me to." She smiled warmly, as she held his hand.

The crimson haired lad felt Yang's hand on him, before looking over to the necklace she gave him earlier in the afternoon. He clutched his necklace before smiling. "Thank you Yang." He kissed her cheek. "And thank you Neos. I can't just hide myself from this reality. I'm ready to face it head-on!"

Neos gave a proud smile, as he patted his buddy's back. "That's more like it! C'mon, I promise it's gonna be all right." He faced everyone as they nodded in confirmation. After getting up, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN followed Ozpin into the infirmary, as Professor Goodwitch and Mrs. Hotaru Crimson was waiting.

As Ozpin and Glynda exited, Hotaru's eyes started watering up, as she saw her crimson haired son for the first time in twelve years. "Damien? Is that really you, my son?"

Damien nodded, as he tried to stay strong, while gently nodding. "Yes mother, it's really me..." He faced his mother, who was still lying on the bed. "I can't believe you're really here."

Hotaru gave a warm smile, before looking around to see everyone else in the room. "Oh, and who are all of your friends?"

"Oh right. Mother, let me introduce you to all of my good pals; Neos, Ryu, Gwen, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and my lovely girlfriend, Yang!"

"It is an absolute honour to see my son make so many wonderful friends." Mrs. Crimson replied. "My name is Hotaru Crimson, Damien's mother; and I believe my son has mentioned to you before, I am indeed a Komodo-dragon Faunus." She showed her tail off as evidence. "Now, I imagine you all have a lot of questions to ask, which I will do my best to answer."

Weiss waved her hand. "Ooh! Mrs. Crimson, what was Damien like as a child?"

Hotaru giggled as she brought up a photo of her younger self, holding an infant Damien in her arms. "Oh, Damien was just the cutest little thing I'd ever seen. Of course, I remember a few times where he tripped and scrapped his knees; and I'd have to kiss it and feel it feel better." Everyone awed, while Damien's cheeks were red from embarrassment. "Oh, I remember this one time where Damien once took off all his clothes, to roll in the mud in his underwear, pretending to be a baby Boarbatusk."

"MOM!" Damien screamed from humiliation, as everyone was hooting with laughter. "Why'd you tell them that?!"

Hotaru face-palmed before apologizing. "Oops! Sorry dear, it was just too precious." She giggled as her son hid inside his jacket.

"Oh man, this is just too good!" Neos giggled. "I gotta write this down."

"Don't even think about it, buster!" Damien growled.

Ruby looked at the old imperial spear that was standing in the corner. "Ooh, is that an ancient Wo-Dao fire spear?!"

Hotaru smiled. "You certainly know your weapons, young one. Yes, that weapon is called "The Firefly." Both me and my husband, Hanzo, were skilled fighters back then." She noticed Ruby fumbling with her weapon. "Careful there with that spear! It's known to weave fire with a wave of the weapon."

Ruby dropped Firefly before bowing. "Sorry about that, Mrs. Crimson."

Ryu noticed the Noh mask and Kimono that were hung on the bed-sill. "Wow, you sure have a thing for the Eastern culture."

"Well what can I say? My admiration for the Eastern arts dates back to my family roots. Why, from time to time, I enjoy reading some old novels too." She said with a faint blush.

Blake wondered what she meant, before asking with an embarrassed look. "Um, d-does that include..." She was cut off with a swift nod.

"So, how did you and your husband meet?" Jaune wondered. "I mean, Damien said he was a human."

Hotaru thought for a while before answering his question. "Well, it's quite a long story. Basically, both me and Hanzo were partners and rivals; whenever a task was assigned to us, we'd always compete to see who would perform better. And well... one thing led to another and we fell in love." She closed her eyes as she continued to reminisce. "I mean, it was certainly a shock to some people; what with a human and a Faunus marrying each other. But with the encouragement we got from all our friends, we happily lived our lives together and raised our own child." She looked at her son once more and smiled. "I can see that Hanzo has trained you to become quite the Huntsman, and to think, now you have your own girlfriend. I'm so proud of you, Damien."

"Thanks mother." Damien smiled, before remembering the important question. "So, if you weren't killed during the night twelve years ago, where exactly were you all this time?" Hotaru's smile faded when she heard the inevitable question.

"Damien, are you sure you should ask that right now?" Yang asked with a concerned look on her face.

The crimson haired lad nodded. "Of course. I mean, I'll never forget that scene from my childhood; where I saw her being shot at with my own eyes!" Hotaru felt a tear roll down her cheek, as Damien faced her directly. "Please mother, I want to know everything that really happened."

Mrs. Crimson sighed before complying. "Very well, my dear. You deserve to know the truth. I will tell you everything." Damien sat next to his mother, as she was prepared to tell the story. "I remember that moment all too well. During that time, when we used to live in Atlas, Damien had recently turned 5 years old, which is why me and my husband were going to celebrate with him." Everyone continued listening, as Hotaru started feeling uneasy. "While we were preparing, I went to go get our son. But when I entered the room, I saw... someone kidnapping him!"

"Ngh... I remember that moment." Damien thought out loud. "My mother told my father the news, and he alerted the authorities."

"Well, what did that kidnapper look like?" Weiss asked. "Because maybe there's a possibility that that man's criminal record must be in the Atlesian records!"

Oh yeah, good thinking Weiss!" Yang complimented her. "Well, any details?"

Damien thought carefully. "Well, it was completely dark and I couldn't see anything on the man. But the only thing I know is that he was wearing a White Fang mask."

"What?! Are you serious?" Blake shouted.

"Yeah. Plus, the gun he was holding belonged to a high-ranking Atlesian soldier!" Damien stated.

"Whoa, he must have been a highly trained assassin." Ren commented.

Hotaru nodded as she took over the story once again. "As my husband was filing the police report, I went after the kidnapper to rescue my son! After cornering him, I managed to separate the criminal from Damien, and was about to finish him off. But then, the kidnapper managed to get the upper hand, and knocked me aside."

"Yikes..." Neos muttered. "So then what happened?"

"After that moment, I saw Damien rushing towards the masked man trying to defend me. And that's when he kicked him down!" Hotaru spoke with a heavy heart. "At that moment, the kidnapper aimed his gun at Damien and was ready to shoot him! To make matters worse, my weapon was tossed over to the side. So, to protect my son, I rushed in front of him and blocked the shot! After that, I fell to the ground, and the kidnapper got away..."

"But why?!" Gwen asked. "Why did you sacrifice your life in order to save your son?"

"That's a silly question." Hotaru simply replied. "I would do anything to protect the people that I love very much; especially my son!"

"Hmm, I can see where the whole 'protector' philosophy trait comes from." Ryu muttered. "Like mother, like son I suppose."

"Yeah." Damien muttered. "So, what happened after that? I mean, I don't even remember anything else from that."

Damien's mother closed her eyes, as she spoke up again. "The truth is, I thought I was a goner as well. But after a while, I regained consciousness. And that is when my husband and the Atlesian Army arrived. During that time, Damien was already safe under the watchful eye of the guards. When we explained the story to General Ironwood, we were told that the person who shot me was actually trying to kill our son!"

Everyone was surprised at what they had heard. "W-What?!" Damien shouted. "But why would anyone be out to kill me?"

"The truth is, I actually don't know myself. The Atlesian Army tried to track down the assassin, but they had no luck." Mrs. Crimson took a deep breath, as her voice cracked a bit. "After the incident passed, both me and Hanzo, as well as General Ironwood agreed that the only course of action was to relocate you to an undisclosed location. However, I was told that I was... no longer allowed to associate with you." She started to tear up at that statement.

"They said WHAT?!" Damien yelled out, as he sprung out of his seat. "Why would they say such a horrid thing?!"

"Because, they told me that as long I was still there with you, it would be easier for the killer to track you down. So, for the past twelve years, I spent my entire life apart from you, never allowed to see you again." She finished with remorse.

After that, Damien slumped back into his seat, at a loss for words. The room was filled with a quiet silence as everyone was speechless at the story that Hotaru Crimson had spoken.

"I... I don't know what to say." Gwen sadly spoke. "Being forced to give up your son, just to keep him safe... I can't imagine something so..."

"Did his father know about this?" Ryu wondered.

Hotaru nodded. "Yes, Hanzo was instructed not to speak a single word about this. It was just as hard on him as it was for me."

"So... it really is all my fault..." All heads turned towards Damien, who was devoid of emotion.

"D-Damien?" Ruby spoke in a worried tone.

Damien looked outside the window before continuing. "If I didn't try to stop that kidnapper, my mother wouldn't have tried to take the shot for me. If I was just stronger at the time; maybe our family wouldn't have been torn apart..."

"C'mon man, don't say that. Even if you didn't do anything, it probably would have had the same result." Neos stated.

"Yeah, you shouldn't blame yourself for this sort of thing." Jaune added.

"You don't get it. Even though my father tried to keep me strong, some nights I would see him crying from the events." Damien muttered.

Another saddening silence occurred, as no one was able to find the words to bring him out of his funk. But just when things were lost, they heard someone speak. "Oh, my little flame, please don't die down. Your fire shines brighter than any firefly in the night." Hotaru spoke, as Damien remembered his mother always saying that whenever he was sad.

"M-M-Mother?" Damien finally spoke up.

Hotaru rose out of bed, to embrace her son. "Listen my son, please don't blame yourself for my disappearance. Believe me, it was rough for me to never see my family again. But your father would always inform me of your life, which relieves me to see that you would become a great, proud, and confident young man!" She smiled, before showing him the picture of Hotaru cradling baby Damien. "This picture is the reason I came here today; every time I saw this photo, I always remembered my sweet little baby. Though I wasn't allowed to see you before, I've decided that today, that will no longer be the case!"

All three teams were confused at the statement issued by her. "What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"I've decided that I don't care what anyone says to me; I want to be a part of your life again, Damien." Hotaru smiled, with tears of joy.

The crimson haired lad looked upwards at his mother. "Y-you mean it?"

"Of course my son, I want to be the mother that I was back then; I want to be there for you when you graduate from Beacon Academy, as well as when you get married..." She glanced over to Yang, who blushed at that statement. "So, what do you say Damien; will you let me return?"

Everyone stared as Damien remained quiet, but after a few seconds, the façade broke, as Damien cried into his mother's shoulder. "Oh mother! Yes! YES! I'm so happy to see you again!" Damien shouted. "Please, don't ever leave me again!"

Hotaru smiled, as the tears flowed freely down her face. "Of course, my son! I'll always be here for you."

All of Damien's friends were so moved that they couldn't help but shed a few tears on their own; even Neos was tearing up. "*Sniffle* I saw that, tough guy..." Yang called him out.

"Gngh! No, I had something in my eye, that's all!" Neos tried to deny, but he couldn't hold it. "Oh, I can't help it, it's so beautiful damn it!" He bawled, while Ruby hugged him.

After everyone calmed down, Damien helped his mother up. "Oh mother, is it all right if I show you around?"

"Now Damien, don't you think your mother should rest up?" Ryu reminded him.

"No need, Ryu. The doctor said I can get up if I need to." Hotaru smiled at the samurai.

"Oh boy, I can't wait to show you my room!" Damien sprung up. "C'mon everyone, let's all go together!"

Everyone cheered, as Yang pulled him into a tight bear-hug. "Ooh! Now there's the cheerful Damien that I know! I'm so glad you feeling better."

Damien chuckled, as he lightly pressed his hand onto his girlfriend's cheek. "Well, I owe it all to you and everyone in this room for always having my back. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart." He smiled, as Yang kissed his cheek. "Now, let's get going."

While Hotaru was busy putting on her gear, everyone else exited the room. 'Forgive me, my son; but right now, I can't tell you the whole reason for my visit.' She thought to herself, while looking over the photo one more time. 'Just know that, no matter what happens, I will always love you.' She finished, as she met up with the group.

* * *

 **All right then, I really hope that was something to behold. Now listen, I want to explain my thought process before going into this chapter. First and foremost, when I first created my OCs, I did not realize that all four of them have one thing in common; dead parents! (Or in Gwen's case, just her mother.) In all honesty, this was not the intention I had when I did this;** **that is why I did this chapter, in order to rectify that error. Secondly, Hotaru is a Japanese name for Firefly, and as for her character, she loves Japanese culture. Now, as for this, it's pretty clear that this is connected to the grand plot that I am still trying to build up here. Hence, Hotaru Crimson will appear for the next few chapters. Also, one last note, I know this chapter was too long, but that is because this chapter was originally two parts put together. And with that, I bid you all good night!**


	43. Chapter Alpha: Chibi Edition

**And now for something completely different. Hello everyone, and welcome to a super-duper ultra mega alpha omega... Yangy-bangy fruity patooey whatever... chapter of a different kind. I loved RWBY Chibi, what with all of the fourth-wall breaking moments, which gave me an idea for this chapter. Also, since this chapter is being released on Christmas, I thought that I would go for something much more light-hearted. So, I present to you... DRGN Chibi! Now, please be aware that any of the topics that I go into may offend some people, but just know that this is not to be taken seriously. This is just an attempt at a RWBY Chibi chapter, so chances are that I do not mean anything that I say here. Also, this may be very obvious, but I wanna point out that... NONE OF THIS IS CANON! With that said, lets-a-go!**

* * *

 _ **Opening**_

In a pitch black room, a voice is heard. "Hey Damien, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Neos, what's up?" Damien replied.

"Do you feel like that there's something different about us?" Neos pondered.

"Different how?" The crimson haired lad asked.

The lights are turned on, as it reveals that Damien and Neos are in chibi form. "I don't know. I feel like something weird is going on, but I can't quite put my finger on it." The ex-rogue explained.

Damien shrugged. "Eh, maybe you're imagining things."

"I guess." Neos complied, as the two walked out to greet their friends, all in chibi form by the way!

 _ **Act 1 - Basketball**_

Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN are standing in the basketball court, with Damien spinning the ball on his finger. "All right gang, glad to see everyone is here for some basketball." He greeted. "Only question is, how are we going to arrange the teams?"

"How about based on colour?" Ruby asked.

"You do realize that there's way too many different colours." Weiss stated.

Jaune had an idea. "We could arrange teams based on height!"

"Yeah, but that wouldn't really be fair to some of us." Ren pointed out.

Everyone thought carefully, before Neos thought of something. "I know! How about boys vs. girls?"

"Yeah, that could work!" Damien nodded, with everyone else agreeing.

*20 minutes later*

The teams are arranged with Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, and Gwen on one side; while Damien, Neos, Jaune, Ren, and Ryu all the other. "All right, I think the teams are looking good." Nora commented.

"Wait, we don't have enough boys!" Jaune stated.

"You're right." Pyrrha said. "I have an idea."

*20 more minutes later*

"I think this should fix the issue." She concluded, as Yang and Nora were now on the boys' side.

Blake bluntly pointed out. "Now we don't have enough girls."

"Hmm. Let me think of something." Ryu said.

*Yet another 20 minutes later*

This time, it shows Jaune on the girls' side, with the teams having even members. "Now the teams are even."

Everyone nodded, until Jaune objected. "Wait a minute; this isn't right at all!"

*Really? 20 minutes again?*

Jaune is now wearing a dress. "Perfect! I think we're all set." Damien cheered, as everyone nodded.

"Yeah, let's play some basketball!" Jaune shouted. As everyone ran to their side, Jaune was struggling to walk in high heels.

 _ **Act 2 - Stuntman Neos**_

Neos is waving to a camera. "What's up, internet? My name's Neos Xanthos, and I'm about to perform some death-defying stunts for you guys! Jaune, you rolling, buddy?"

Jaune the cameraman gave a thumb's up. "Yup!"

"All right, here we go!" The ex-rogue cheered, before a disclaimer showed up.

"Warning! These stunts are extremely dangerous especially since they are being performed by a crazy ex-rogue and should never under any circumstances be tried at home! SERIOUSLY!" The disclaimer rapidly spoke.

"By the way, don't forget to send me your stunt ideas online!" Neos reminded.

The first stunt shows Neos in a suit of armor, being pulled back by Pyrrha's polarity semblance, onto the tether of Blake's Gambol Shroud. Neos is then launched high into the sky, disappearing into the clouds, before crashing down hard.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha nervously cried out, into the smoldering crater.

Neos popped out of the crater, before cheering. "Woo! That was awesome!"

Then there is a montage of Jackass-level stunts; with Neos covering himself in Rapier Wasp honey while going into an Ursa Cave, another stunt with Neos in a bubble being whacked into the forest from a hammer swing by Nora while ricocheting off the trees like a pinball, and another stunt where he is hover-skateboarding while holding a grappling hook attached to Yang's motorcycle on the freeway!

Then there's another stunt where Neos is being spun on a wheel by Mercery and Emerald, while a blindfolded Cinder shoots a few arrows at him. The ex-rogue is thankfully safe from the arrows, but then the wheel spontaneously combusts, leaving nothing but a pile of ash. Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder are all shocked at the sight of this, but Neos pops up from the pile of ash, as everyone else is relieved that he's alive.

After the stunt montage is over, Neos is lying on his bed, wearing a huge body cast. "Oh man, that was the greatest thing ever! Look at all of the comments that keep coming." He exclaimed, as Jaune kept scrolling for him.

"Yeah, but don't you think you're going a bit overboard with some of these stunts?" Jaune sheepishly asked. "I mean, you're going to get yourself killed, Neos."

"Relax Jaune. In this time of age, reckless stupidity is when passes for entertainment these days. C'mon, just one more stunt and I'm done." The ex-rogue waved off, before feeling miraculously healed, while removing his body cast. "So, let's make it a good one. Whatcha got?"

Jaune continued searching, before finding a stunt that made him react in horror. "Oh dear Oum no..."

Neos raised an eyebrow before looking at the request, and flinching slightly. "Well, let it be known that I never back down from anything..."

Jaune holds the camera, as he and Neos enter a dark room. "Psst, Neos here, and what I'm about to go is something that no living human or Faunus should ever do in their lifetime." He whispered, as the two of them tip-toed towards the sleeping beast, Yang. "All right, here goes." The ex-rogue reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pair of scissors. After careful examination, he gently picked one single strand of Yang's hair, and slowly snipped off the strand! As the hair strand flew down, he quickly caught it before it hit the ground, and placed it in a plastic bag. Yang tossed and turned a bit, before falling back to sleep. "Phew! C'mon, let's get out of here." He gestured to his cameraman, as they quickly escaped Team RWBY's room.

"Jeez, that was too close!" Jaune breathed out heavily.

"Yeah... But I did it!" Neos cheered. "I am the greatest stuntman ever! WOO-HOO!" He whooped loudly as he danced in triumph.

Jaune froze in his tracks at what he saw. "Uh... Neos?" He squeaked.

Neos stopped dancing at the sight of his face. "What?" The blonde knight pointed behind the ex-rogue, before getting a clue. "She's right behind me, isn't she?" Jaune nodded, as Neos turned to see one extremely furious Yang! "Uhh... Hi." That was all he could say, before Yang's rage peaked. "RUN!" He ordered, as the two of them made a mad dash away from the enraged boxer.

 _ **Act 3 - Movie Night**_

All three teams gathered in Team DRGN's dorm room, as they all finished gathering the snacks and popcorn for movie night. "So, what are we going to watch tonight?" Damien asked, as he flipped through the DVD collection.

"How about Red vs. Blue?" Jaune asked.

"Seen it." Ruby bluntly pointed out.

"X-Ray and Vav?" Neos wondered.

Weiss shook her head. "I don't really care for superhero movies."

Gwen thought for a second. "Okay, why not Camp Camp?"

Everyone thought for a minute, before Nora spoke. "Nah! Not enough leg breaking."

"*Sigh* We're running out of options, folks." Damien reminded everyone, before he remembered something. "Wait, I have an idea. How about this? I just bought this last week." He held up a DVD collection of RWBY Volumes 1-3.

"RWBY huh? Never heard of it." Neos said.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how you spell ruby." Weiss criticized.

"Well, what's it about?" Pyrrha wondered.

"Let's see. It's about a group of girls who train in some sort of combat school to defend their world from the creatures of darkness." Damien summarized.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Oh joy, more senseless violence."

"Oh come now, maybe it won't be so bad." Ren shrugged. "Give it a chance." He reasoned, as Damien popped in Volume 1 into the DVD player.

*Cutaway showing Neos holding up a sign. "Two hours later..." He said in a French accent.*

"OMG! That was amazing!" Ruby squealed. "I loved that scythe wielder in red! She was so cool."

"Yeah! And that blonde knight was something." Jaune pointed out.

"I must admit; I was skeptical about the show, but I love it!" Weiss conceded.

"Well what are we waiting for?!" Neos shouted. "Damien, put in the next DVD!"

Damien chuckled. "All right already!" He complied as the twelve of them binge-watched the other two volumes.

'I always kick my semester off with a _Yang!'_ Everyone booed at the movie quote, except for Damien and Yang of course.

'I guess, you're the kind of guy I wish I was hear with.' The red-haired warrior in the movie said.

"Man, how does he not realize what she's clearly saying to him?" Jaune commented. "C'mon buddy, take the hint!" He shouted, as Pyrrha silently giggled.

As everyone watched the last moment in Volume 3, featuring... THAT ONE SCENE, everyone was shocked, while some were tearing up. "*Sniffle* That... that was so... heartbreaking!" Ruby wailed.

"I know. I mean, to have everything going so well, only for it all to be taken away?! It's not fair!" Jaune bawled.

"Well... all we can do is hope that our heroes can... keep moving forward." Damien calmly stated.

"I guess, but what if the writers take things too far?" Gwen asked, to which everyone had an idea.

 **Meanwhile, at an unknown location**

Two writers are finishing up a script of some sort on the computer. "...And then Salem laughs evilly, "Perfect! Now that my nuclear bomb has completed wiped Team RWBY out of existence, nobody is left to stand in my way! Remnant is now mine for the taking!" ...And that is how the final episode of RWBY should end." The shorter writer said to his colleague.

"I love it!" The taller, brown-haired writer nodded. The two of them heard a voice accompanied by some knocking. "Huh, it must be Barb. Wonder what she wants?" The two walked over to the door, and opened it to see Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN (in regular form btw), glaring at the two writers.

"Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross?" Jaune asked.

"Uh yeah?" Miles answered, confused.

"Can we help you guys?" Kerry asked.

The twelve of them nodded at each other, before addressing them. "WE NEED TO TALK!" All twelve of them stated simultaneously, before advancing at the two scared writers.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Okay, that was something, wasn't it? Again, this is just an idea that I really wanted to try out, since I really did like RWBY Chibi. The third Act about the characters watching their own show made me wonder, "How would the characters of RWBY react if they actually watched RWBY?" I also did this one because I also got RWBY Volume 1-3 on DVD for Christmas - HYPE! Again, I remind you that this stuff shouldn't be taken seriously; it was just a random idea I did just for the hell of it. Okay, take care and Merry Christmas!**


	44. Chapter Crossover: The DRGN & the DMON

**Hello everybody, it's me again! Back with another special different chapter; this time it's a crossover chapter. This chapter is a crossover between my OC Team and the OC Team of fellow RWBY fan; Blazing-Saint! This idea came to me during an RPing moment on DeviantArt between us, and while I started the concept for this chapter months ago, it ended up being delayed for a long time, until now! So, I present to you, a little tale I like to call "The Dragon and The Demon!" Btw, this chapter is not canon with either my story line, or his story. Here we go!**

* * *

"Thank you for coming here today, children." Ozpin greeted Team DRGN, whom he called to his office.

Damien bowed towards the headmaster as he greeted him. "Of course, Professor Ozpin. To what do we owe this visit?"

Ozpin took another sip from his mug before continuing. "Very well, Mr. Crimson; I shall cut to the chase. For a while now, we've been receiving numerous messages from students in regards to the increasing Grimm population in The Emerald Forest."

"The Emerald Forest? But all of us train here every day, and we've never had issues before." Gwen wondered.

"That may be so, but carefully examination has shown that deep within the Forest, there appears to be a zone where more and more Grimm have been appearing." The headmaster explained as he pulled up a dashboard showing a map of the Emerald Forest. He then pointed towards a highlighted area in the deepest section. "Over the past few days, we have seen a wide assortment of creatures spawning out of the area; on top of that, these Grimm seem to pose a much larger threat than the usual beasts." Ozpin then spoke with a mildly dreadful tone. "If this keeps up, not only will students not be able to train in peace, but it would certainly pose a major problem for any future applicants during the Beacon Initiation Exam!"

"If that is the case, then why have you chosen us for this task?" Ryu asked.

Ozpin faced the samurai. "Simple, Mr. Yahto. I have been examining your training very carefully, and the four of you certainly stand out from your friends. That is why I have decided to ask you for your assistance."

Neos put his hands on his hips and gave a small snort. "So, it's just the four of us against a team of Super Grimm threatening to take down Beacon Academy, eh? No problem!"

Ozpin gave a small chuckle before addressing him. "Not necessarily. You four will be joined by another first-year team from Beacon." He motioned to his assistant, as Professor Goodwitch opened the door to let in the group of four who were waiting outside.

First, there was a young, long-haired brunette Latino girl. Then there was a dark-skinned black-haired boy wearing ninja garb. Next up, there was a young, long blue-haired Japanese girl wearing a bit of a revealing outfit. Finally, the leader was a very tall red-haired teen, who was a litter older than all of the other students in the room; this teen also appeared to have a pair of horns on his head, a pair of scaly wings, and a long pointed tail.

"I'll let you all get acquainted with each other." Ozpin explained, before letting them get introductions out of the way.

"Yo, my name's Francesca Merdez!" The young fire-head introduced.

"I am Leonidas Orion." The dark ninja blunted stated.

"Hey there, I'm Naomi Siren, and may I say, you all look absolutely... wonderful." The young blue-haired girl spoke in a somewhat seductive tone.

"And my name is Iskandar Drakon; and we are Team DMON (Demon)!" The leader spoke.

"Well, Iskandar and friends, the name's Damien Crimson! This young samurai here is Ryu Yahto." He pointed to Ryu, who nodded in acknowledgement. "This young lady over there is Gwen Charlotteton." Gwen happily bowed towards the group. "And over here is my good pal, Neos Xanthos." Neos gave a small wave to them. "Together, the four of us form Team DRGN!"

Iskandar smirked as he shook Damien's hand. "Nice to meet you Damien. I gotta say, you guys look like a strong bunch."

Damien smirked back. "Thanks Iskandar. I can definitely say the same for you and your team."

Ozpin cleared his throat as everyone turned to face him. "Now then, since Ms. Goodwitch has briefed Team DMON on the same mission, I believe there is no need to repeat myself. Now then, everyone please gather your weapons and meet us at the Launch Pads!" And with that, both Ozpin and Glynda exited the room.

As Team DRGN and Team DMON were gathering their weapons from the locker room, they decided to learn more about each other. "So uh, Izzy, is it?" Neos questioned Iskandar's identity. "What's with the horns and the tail and the wings? What are ya, some kind of demon?" Everyone stared at Neos, while Damien, Ryu, and Gwen all face-palmed.

"Excuse me?" Iskandar raised an eyebrow, while crossing his arms.

"Neos, where are your manners?!" Damien reprimanded him. "Sorry about my friend here, he has a tendency not to think things through."

Iskankar smirked and nodded. "That's all right. If you must know, I happen to be a Dragon Faunus!"

Team DRGN was shocked at the revelation revealed by the large dragon. "A Dragon Faunus?! Does such a type of Faunus even exist?" Gwen asked.

"Hmm, I have heard of such Faunus existing back in the past, but they've all been wiped out." Ryu thought. "To think someone such as yourself still lives..."

The Dragon Faunus clenched his fist before speaking. "Well, it wasn't easy to live as I did back then; what with my parents killed at such a young age, and witnessing my younger brother being killed in front of my eyes!" He spoke, as his eyes were close to tearing up. "You wouldn't believe what hell I've suffered."

Damien tapped Iskandar's shoulder, before explaining. "That's where you're wrong, Iskandar. Believe it or not, I've also got Faunus blood in my genes!"

"Whatcha talking about, Damien?!" Francesca shouted. "You look human to me!"

"On the contrary, I am a half Komodo-Dragon Faunus; inherited from my mother. Even though I look human, I've been discriminated for my heritage during my childhood days; hell, I even saw my mother killed in my own eyes!"

"Whoa..." Iskandar mouthed, before smirking. "Well, we dragon brothers stick together against those who bear ill will against us!"

"Thanks." The crimson haired lad smirked back. "After all, I'd never stand by and let an innocent bystander suffer!" After the bonding continued, the two teams eventually reached the launch pads.

Professors Goodwitch and Ozpin stood by the launch pads, before briefly recapping the mission. "Now remember children, your task is to figure out the rampant growth of the Grimm in the Emerald Forest, and put a stop to it. Good luck, everyone!" He concluded, as the eight teens were launched into the heart of the Forest.

"Okay, so Ozpin said that there would be an overwhelming amount of Grimm lurking around here." Damien reminded everyone. "Be on your guard."

"And speak of the devil!" Neos pointed out, as hordes of Grimm came pouring out from all four directions. "Well, let's do this thing!"

"All right, let's go ahead and split up into teams of two." Damien spoke up. "Neos, you go with Fransesca."

"Whatevs. Just as long as she doesn't get in my way." Neos snarkered.

"What was that, Sparky?!" Fransesca yelled, as Neos chuckled.

"Easy there, Franny. I was just teasing." The ex-rogue said.

Iskandar nodded as he spoke up. "Naomi, I want you to travel with Gwen."

Naomi's eyes lit up, as she walked behind Gwen. "Sounds wonderful." She grinned, as she spanked her bottom, much to Team DRGN's shock.

"Uh, you realize that Gwen is Ryu's boyfriend?" Neos pointed out.

"Ooh, even better. I mean, the more the merrier!" The siren squealed.

Damien looked at Iskandar, who was feeling uneasy to explain. "Anyways... Ryu and Leonidas, you two are fine with working together, right?"

The two faced each other, before shrugging and nodding. "Perfect. I guess that leaves you and me, Damien." The dragon Faunus clapped his hands, before issuing the command. "All right, let's roll!" And with that, the four pairs traveled to their chosen direction, slaying the massive hordes of Grimm.

In the northern direction, the two crimson haired leaders searched for the source of the outbreak, while they conversed with each other. "So, you were once a White Fang member?" Damien asked.

Iskandar sighed. "Yes, it's true. I'm not exactly proud of what I did, but even so, that's pretty much why I'm here; to look for a fresh start."

Damien smirked. "Y'know, you remind me of Neos. He used to be a rogue who loved to cause disaster, but after a while, he's become such a well-behaved individual... Most of the time." He rubbed the back of his head at the last part, to which the dragon Faunus chuckled.

After trekking through, Iskandar noticed something coming off from the end. "Hey Damien, look over there." He noticed a shady looking being standing next to a machine. "Who and what is that?!"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, I've got a bad feeling about this." Damien replied. "Hey, show yourself! Are you responsible for the Grimm outbreak?!" He called out to the man.

"Heh heh heh... Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now." The man revealed himself from the shadows. He was a man with dark-blue jeans that had a gold chain in it, as well as a blue hoodie. He took off the hood, and grinned while showing his razor sharp shark-teeth, revealing his identity as a Shark Faunus.

Iskandar examined the insane Faunus, before glaring. "Wait a minute, you're from the White Fang, aren't you?!"

"Well, you're very observant, aren't you? And I also know that you're that Dragon freak who deserted us." The Shark chortled. "Oh man, I'm gonna enjoy giving your wings to Taurus as a souvenir from my little 'trip' to Beacon!"

"The hell you are!" Damien shouted back, while opening his flamethrower gauntlets; The Twin Dragon Fangs. "Who do you think you are, showing up in our Academy and causing this mess?!"

"Foolish crimson haired boy, I am the elite WF Assassin, Taron Mako!" Taron introduced himself, as he revealed his weapons; a pair of razor-sharp arm blades. "I've got orders from the boss to infest this flea-ridden cesspool with Grimm, and slaughter the lot of you!" He cackled maniacally.

Iskandar and Damien stood their ground and faced Mako. "Oh no you don't! We're taking you down!" Iskandar declared, while drawing his massive blade; the Divine Star Slayer.

"Afraid not, you overgrown lizard. You and your little pals won't last at all on my turf!" Taron stated.

In the other areas, Neos and Fransesca were converting about video games. "And then I sidestepped right at the edge of the stage, causing the poor chump to fall off the ledge!"

"Hah! What a loser!" Fransesca laughed. "Man, you're a pretty good Smash Bros player Neos. You and I gotta play one after this!"

"You're on, Franny! I'll glad own you." The ex-rogue retorted. As the two approached a cave, they heard a low growl. "Ssh, did you hear that?" Neos pointed out to Fransesca. Emerging from the cavern was a large Komodo Dragon Grimm, that had heavy body armor and a helmet made up of bone. Not only that, but this particular Grimm was radiating a dark aura around it. "Whoa! A Hellblazer!" Neos mouthed.

"A what?!" Franny shouted.

"A Hellblazer! It's this rare reptile Grimm me and my pals saw in one of our missions. This thing can also breathe fire by the way." The ex-rogue pointed out, as the large lizard spewed its dark flames at the brunette. Fransesca dodged and landed behind the Grimm. "Oh, and whatever you do, don't approach it from the back." He warned, as the Hellblazer lifted its tail to whack Fransesca.

Luckily, Fransesca used her Semblance to rip off a portion of the cavern to parry the attack. However, it did break through the defence, pushing the brunette back. "Holy Frijoles!" She commented. "Yo Neos, wanna give me a hand with this freakshow?" She yelled, as she drew out her large battleaxe, Krakatoa.

"Yeah whatever..." Neos chuckled, as he extended his Claws of Mjolnir. "Up for a little Subspace Emissary re-enactment, Franny?"

"You know it, Sparky!" Fransesca cheered.

Meanwhile, Ryu and Leonidas travelled through a dense section of the woods, when Ryu halted his partner. "Hold on, Leonidas. Do you hear that?" The samurai spoke quietly to the ninja.

"Hmm, I do sense a dark presence." Leonidas muttered. The two of them stood still, until a large, scythed bipedal insect-like Grimm crept up behind them.

The two swordsmen turned around, as the creature hissed at them. "A Hacksaw. I never would have imagined one of them lurking here." Ryu commented.

"Hacksaw, eh? Those claws and wings do make it a threat." Leonidas theorized. "Let us take caution, Ryu." He said as he drew his twin katanas, named Orion's Belt.

"Indeed." Ryu nodded, while he drew his Yahto Blade.

As for Gwen and Naomi, they walked through an open field, until they saw something swoop in from above and land in front of them. A large spike covered lizard Grimm with a long neck, and an orange gem in the middle of its body screeched at the two girls. "No way, not a Hydravoc!" Naomi shouted in a scared tone.

"H-Hydravoc?" Gwen worriedly asked.

Naomi nodded. "Yeah. Me, Izzy, and the gang encountered this thing Day One here. But I never would have imagined seeing another one of these things!"

"Well, I won't back down from this!" Gwen said determinedly, as she brought out her IceBorn Bow.

"Don't worry, Gwen. I'll keep you nice and safe!" She commented, before pulling out her weapon; a trident which she named Poseidon's Blessing.

"Thanks Naomi, but I'm no coward, I can do this!" The archer assured her.

"Oh, but that's not what I was referring to..." The seductress naughtily explained, while eyeballing her body.

"Um... can we focus on stopping the Grimm please?" She nervously stated, to which she complied. The Hydravoc breathed an orange flame at the two girls, as they dodged them.

Naomi tinkered with her weapon to shoot a giant ball of water, dousing the flames and soaking the beast's long neck. Gwen then shot a few ice arrows at the Grimm's upper body, encasing it in ice and left if vulnerable for a slash attack. "Gwen wait!" Naomi warned her, as Gwen detached her bow and slashed the Hydravoc's head off. However, the gem on its body started glowing, as the Hydravoc regenerated two heads instead of one. "You must never slice off the Hydravoc's head, because it'll just keep gaining more of them!"

"I'm so sorry!" Gwen apologized.

Naomi gave a small, reassuring smile while waving it off. "No worries! I made the same mistake too." However, as she was distracted, the twin dragon breathed out a double barrage of fire.

"Naomi, get back!" Gwen ordered, as she summoned her giant ice knight, to shield her ally. "Leave her alone, you cretin!"

"Whew! Thanks Gwen, I would have been smoking if it weren't for your massive friend here." Naomi commended.

Gwen bowed to her. "Of course." She then faced the two-headed Hydravoc. "But how do we deal with the Hydravoc?"

Naomi thought carefully, before remembering. "Oh yeah, how silly of me! We gotta target the gem in its centre; that's the weak point."

"I see. Perhaps if we distract it, we can strike the jewel." The archer concluded.

"Oh, leave that to me!" The seductress smirked, as she cleared her throat. "You might wanna take a step back." Naomi then took a deep breath, and unleashed a sonic scream at the Hydravoc, preventing its movement.

Gwen was amazed by her semblance, but before she could compliment her, she saw the Hydravoc's weakness exposed, as she ordered her ice elemental to thrust its sword directly into the Grimm's belly, destroying the jewel. Ice started forming in the spot where Gwen's ice knight stabbed the Hydravoc, until it was completely encased in ice, until it shattered into nothing.

The two girls scanned the area, as they found no trace of the Hydravoc. "Well, that takes care of that. Way to go, Gwen!" Naomi cheered, while spanking her bottom.

Gwen's eyes widen as her cheeks turned red, but she regained her composure. "Oh... um, thanks... Naomi."

Naomi sighed a bit. "I'm sorry about that, I just can't help myself. It's kind of in my nature."

"Oh, that's okay. Besides, I could not have done it without your help." Gwen bowed to her. "Thank you, Naomi."

Naomi had the biggest grin of her face, as she hugged her. "Ooh, you're the best, Gwen!"

Back at the cavern entrance, Neos and Fransesca were dealing with the Hellblazer, who clung to the surface of the cave and spewed its dark fire at the two. They leapt back to avoid the fire, as Fransesca used her Geomancy to topple the entrance. The HellBlazer jumped off the collapsing cavern, as it landed right in front of the two.

The giant lizard Grimm charged towards Neos, but the ex-rogue grabbed its head to stop the assault, while following up with a jolt of electricity from his Claws of Mjolnir. "Hey Franny, head's up!" He shouted towards her, as he chucked the Hellblazer towards the hot-headed brunette.

"Whoa!" Fransesca exclaimed as she batted the Grimm away with Krakatoa. "Okay, now you wanna actually kill this sucker?!"

"Heh, that's easy. Just go for it's belly!" Neos bluntly stated. The Hellblazer got up and roared, shooting a large stream of fire at the ex-rogue. Neos then dashed forward and performed his spinning drill attack, as he narrowly avoided the flames. Once he collided with the beast's head, it was knocked over on its back. Fransesca then took this opportunity to leap up and slam her battleaxe into its belly, completely decimating it.

"Sheesh, that was just plain crazy with that drill attack there. Not bad, Neos." Fransesca admitted.

"Yup! You know it, Franny." Neos shrugged.

"And stop calling me Franny!" Fransesca growled.

As for the Hacksaw, Ryu dashed towards the scythed Grimm and matched its attack. While the Hacksaw parried the attack, Leonidas teleported behind the creature and tried to slice its back, but the Hacksaw extended its wings and took flight to avoid the attack. "So, its capable of flight too, interesting." Leonidas commented.

"Yes, but it does lack proper body armor, making it a vulnerable target." Ryu pointed out. "Perhaps if we daze it, we can strike the beast." The samurai pointed out, as he gripped his Yahto Blade to send out a tornado to trap the Hacksaw.

Leonidas saw the chance to capitalize on it by attaching Orion's Belt into Bow form, as he fired a few sticky arrows at the Hacksaw's wings, immobilizing it. "Now's our chance!" The ninja pointed out, as the two dashed into the tornado, and delivered two fatal slashes at the beast, disposing it. "Hmm, that was most impressive, Ryu." Leon nodded towards him.

"As were you, Leonidas." Ryu replied back with the same level of respect.

Finally, Damien and Iskandar were in the middle of their battle against Taron Mako. Damien shot a stream of fire from his Twin Dragon Fangs, whilst Iskandar also shot some flames from his hands and mouth. The Shark Faunus assassin dodged the fiery assault and lunged at the red pair, who avoided the slashes. "Well, you punks have some firepower, but that won't help you!" He laughed as he dashed at Damien, landing a swift kick into his gut.

"Agh!" Damien shouted, as he got knocked into a tree.

"Damien!" Iskandar exclaimed. "Damn you!" He roared, as he dove towards the shark Faunus. The dragon Faunus pinned him, as he punched Taron in the face. However, he soon gained the upper hand, and head-butted Iskandar in the face. While the Dragon Faunus recoiled in pain, Taron snuck behind Iskandar, and sunk his fangs into the Dragon's left wing. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He screamed.

As the Shark Faunus continued to try to tear off the wing, he didn't notice Damien running behind him, as he delivered a hammer-fisted strike in the back of his head, knocking him out for a while. Iskandar. "Iskandar, you all right?" The crimson haired lad asked his comrade.

"Yeah, but the bastard really got me deep in the wing." The Dragon Faunus winced, as he rubbed it. "I think I can get though."

"Well now, you sure pack a wallop. I like that in my prey!" Taron smirked. "Let's see you handle this!" He clapped his hands together to create a sandstorm, separating the two. He then dug into the ground, to sneak up behind Damien. He delivered a cross slash at the crimson haired lad, dropping him to his knees.

Before the Shark Faunus could finish him, Iskandar blocked the attack with his sword, while firing a shotgun blast at Taron, which pushed him back. "Hey thanks!" The crimson haired lad replied, as he got up.

"Anytime Damien!" The Dragon Faunus nodded. "Besides, I'm not letting him get away."

"Heh, that's what you think." The Shark Faunus grinned. "Little do you realize, my job's already done! This forest is about to become over-swarmed with Grimm, and there ain't nothing you can do about it! Have fun..." He grinned as he kicked up a large dust cloud to cover his escape.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Iskandar roared out loud, as he waved the dust cloud away, only to find out that Taron Mako was no where to be found. "Damn..."

"No time to grieve just yet, we got a bigger problem on our hands!" Damien reminded him, as hordes of Grimm erupted from the machine. "C'mon Iskandar, we've got this!" He assured him as he charged himself, setting his hands and feet ablaze.

Iskandar was intrigued by his strength. "Yeah. Let's do this!" He pumped his arms.

"Not without us, you aren't!" The two heard a voice, as an Ursa was crushed by a rockslide, while a Nevermore was electrocuted.

"Neos!" Damien exclaimed.

"Fransesca!" Iskandar shouted.

"Did you really think we'd miss this party?" Franny smirked.

After that reunion, a small section of the Grimm was frozen solid that was then shattered by a sonic scream. Meanwhile, another area of Grimm were trapped within a hurricane to which a sword-wielding duo dashed in and sliced them to bits.

"Well, the gang's all here!" Naomi announced, as she, Gwen, Ryu, and Leonidas met up with the rest of the group. "The only question is, how do we stop this outbreak?"

"Well, I'm no tech expert, but if I were to bet, maybe all these Grimm would vanish if we destroyed the machine?" Neos guessed.

Leonidas thought for a minute, before examining the machine. "Ah yes, that could work. However, this contraption is extremely sturdy. A powerful explosion is what we need to shatter it!"

"I think we have what it takes." Damien pointed out. "Izzy, wanna lend me some fire-power?"

Iskandar grinned. "You got it!"

As everyone else tried to drive off the Grimm, Damien and Iskandar charged up their strength, as they combined their power to create a massive fireball. They shot the huge projectile at the machine, where a large explosion formed once it collided. The resulting explosion not only pushed their teammates back, but it was able to wipeout any remaining Grimm in that area.

"Jeez, give a gal some warning next time, will ya?!" Fransesca scolded them.

"Eh, sorry about that, Fransesca." Damien apologized, before his scroll rang.

"Mr. Crimson, is everything all right? I could see an explosion from the Cliffside?" Ozpin wondered.

"Ah, yes sir, everything's all right." The crimson haired lad responded. "It seems that the source of the Grimm population came from a machine operated by the White Fang Assassin, Taron Mako."

The headmaster was intrigued by this. "Is that so? Well, were you able to stop Mr. Mako?"

Iskandar spoke up. "Yes, but unfortunately, he got away..."

"Well, the important thing is, you're all safe and sound." Ozpin assured him. "Anyways, the Grimm population seems to have died down, so how about you all return to rest up on a job well done? I'll be waiting at the launch pads."

"Thanks Professor, we'll be there." Damien said, as he hung up his scroll. He then turned to face Iskandar. "Well Iskandar, I just wanted to say that it was an honour to fight alongside a strong fighter such as yourself." He smiled, as he stuck his hand out.

Iskandar was surprised, but he grinned back and returned the handshake. "Thanks Damien, you're a pretty tough guy too. I hope we meet again one day."

While the two continued to shake hands, Neos and Fransesca fist-bumped each other, Ryu and Leonidas bowed towards one another, and Naomi and Gwen hugged it out, despite the former getting a little too close to the latter, but she didn't mind.

* * *

 **Whew! At long last, this chapter crossover is finally complete. I did not expect it to be this big to begin with, nor did I mean to delay it for so long. So, Blazing-Saint, I do hope you like what I've done with it, as do you fine folks. Also, while you're at it, don't forget to check out Blazing-Saint's RWBY OC Story about Team DMON (It's titled 'RWBY Heroic Demons', I recommend it).**

 **Heroic Demons: art/RWBY-Heroic-Demons-Chap-1-revised-623825825**


	45. Chapter 40: Mother Knows Best

**All right, finally a real regular chapter of this story. While this story is a bit of a break from the main plot, I thought it would be a good idea to expand on Hotaru's character, and maybe show the mother-son relationship between Hotaru and Damien. Slight feels are there, here goes!**

* * *

"C'mon, mom, you've got a lot to see!" Damien cheered, dragging his mother by the arm. "Wait until you see our room! Ooh, and then the cafeteria! I JUST CAN'T WAIT!"

Hotaru giggled at her son's sheer joy. "Easy there, son. I'm moving as fast as I can."

As the crimson haired lad led the mini-tour, the rest of the gang were amused at his antics. "Geez, Damien sure is one happy camper!" Weiss commented.

"Well, it makes sense, especially since Damien is just so excited to see his mother again." Pyrrha explained. "It's almost like he's trying to make up for lost time."

Yang gave a small smile, while laughing quietly. Neos noticed something was off with her behavior, but he decided to change the topic. "Yo, can we grab some lunch? I'm starving."

Damien whined. "Aw, but I didn't get to show my mother our new game system..."

"Now Damien, we'll have time to play video games. I believe lunch sounds like a wonderful idea." Hotaru complied. As they made their way to the cafeteria, the group witnessed Cardin and his team harassing Velvet.

"Cardin..." Damien growled under his breath.

"Are they friends of yours, son?" Hotaru asked.

Jaune retorted. "Friends?! Yeah right! Those guys are the biggest Faunus-haters in the entire school, Mrs. Crimson."

"And it looks they are in for another lesson." Ren muttered as Damien looked like he was ready to crack some heads.

However, before the crimson-haired lad could move in, his mother stopped him. "Now Damien, you should know that violence will only create more violence." She smiled. "Let me resolve this." Damien was surprised to hear that, but he had no objections as Hotaru approached Team CRDL.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, mind if I cut in for a moment?" Hotaru asked gently, as Cardin and his gang were caught off-guard.

"What the... Who are you supposed to be?!" Cardin yelled, while looking at her Komodo-Dragon tail.

"Oh, just the mother of Damien Crimson." She simply replied, as Damien waved from the background. "And from my son has told me, you must be Team CRDL. It's so nice to meet you." Hotaru said with the same smile, but with an icy tone that made them pale up. "Nice day we're having, don't you agree?"

Even Neos shuddered. "Geez, and I thought Damien's death glare was scary..."

Damien heard that remark, and faced him. "What was that?" He calmly asked, as his pal clammed up.

"Uh, y-yeah, it is... we were just leaving..." Sky stuttered, as Team CRDL bolted out of here.

Hotaru giggled, as she turned to greet Velvet. "Pardon the interruption, Velvet. Are you alright?"

The rabbit-Faunus regained her composure, before greeting her. "Y-yes, thank you." She bowed towards her.

Damien ran up to meet her. "So Velvet, I see you've met my mother, Hotaru Crimson! Mother, this is my good friend, Velvet Scarlatina."

Velvet's eyes widened is surprise, before smiling "Oh wow, it's so wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Crimson! You know, the funny thing is, Damien protected me from Team CRDL as well the first time we met."

"Oh? Well, that's just like my son to always lend a helping hand to a friend in need. I'm so proud of you." She grinned, as she kissed her son's cheek before ruffling his hair. Damien giggled as his mom was gushing over him.

"Aww, look at Damien. Isn't it so cute when he's speechless like that?" Nora commented.

Yang nodded again, with the same level of silence as before. Neos noticed it, but this time, he decided to ask. "Psst! You feeling alright, Yang?"

Yang faced the ex-rogue, before replying quietly and swiftly. "Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She tried to re-assure him.

Neos shrugged and turned away. "If you say so..."

After everyone finished eating lunch, Team JNPR had left to go to their dorm, and so did Weiss and Blake; leaving Team DRGN, Ruby, and Yang to converse with Hotaru. "So Mrs. Crimson, what was your Huntress training like back then?" Ruby cheerfully asked the Komodo Dragon-Faunus.

"Well Ruby, me and Hanzo were on the same team as Damien's Uncle Carl Sapphire and my sister, Lydia Maroon." Hotaru explained, as she pulled out a photo of her team. "Together, the four of us were known as Team CHHL (Chill), which was led by Carl."

The group examined the photo, and Gwen commented. "Wow, you all look so happy."

"Yes, although I can see Lydia frowning at Hanzo." Ryu noticed.

Hotaru chuckled, before explaining. "Well, back then, Lydia didn't really approve of us dating at first, but after a large search and destroy mission in which Hanzo risked his life to protect her, she changed her tune." She frowned a little bit before remembering something. "Ever since I had to leave my family, I haven't been able to keep in touch with Carl or Lydia."

"Well, Damien's cousin, Mindy, showed up at Beacon a few months ago!" Ruby pointed out.

Hotaru's eyes widened at that statement. "What?! Little Mindy? What in the world was she doing here? I'm sure Lydia must have been worried sick about her!"

There was an awkward silence, before Damien dropped the sad truth. "Mom... I'm afraid Aunt Lydia passed away."

Damien's mother was stunned to hear that. "No... I can't believe it. My sister's... gone?" A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Poor Mindy must have been so devastated; first her father, now her mother."

"Well, Mindy's now living with her Uncle Sapphire back in Mistral. She'll be fine." Neos pointed out.

"I suppose... But I just wished that I could have seen her just once." Hotaru was about to cry, but Damien hugged her.

"Don't cry, mom. Aunt Lydia told me all the good times she had with you." The crimson haired lad assured her. "Besides, you're here now, and that's what's important."

Hotaru smiled as she hugged her son, stroking his hair. "Thank you my son. You always know just what to say."

Yang was struggling to keep the smile from before. However, she was on the verge of tears, as she spoke softly. "I'm just gonna go for a walk."

Ruby noticed the pain in her sister's voice. "Sis, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Ruby. I just wanna get some fresh air. I won't be too long." The blonde boxer smiled, before walking away.

"Ah, but Yang-" She was about to follow, but Neos stopped her.

"Relax Ruby, I think Yang needs some time to be alone." The ex-rogue explained.

As Yang exited, Professor Goodwitch entered and approached the gang. "Pardon me, Mrs. Crimson, but you're needed back at the medical ward. The doctor still needs to run a few health checks before you're good to go."

"Understood, Ms. Goodwitch. I'll be right there." Hotaru complied, as the two women left. "I'll be back later on in the evening, Damien!" She called out, as everyone else waved.

As the evening passed by, Team DRGN was relaxing in their room by playing some video games. As they were continuing their game, there was a rapid knock on the door. Damien opened the door to see a worried Ruby. "Ruby? What seems to be the problem?"

"It's Yang!" Ruby cried. "She hasn't come back since this afternoon."

Ryu, Gwen, and Neos rushed up to the doorway when they heard the news. "Hold on a minute, I thought Yang had returned to her room." Ryu wondered.

"That's the thing, Yang never even entered in the first place." Blake stated, as she and Weiss were standing behind their team leader.

"We've tried calling her, but she hasn't returned any of our calls." Weiss added. "I just don't understand why she would have run off like that."

"Oh come on, isn't it obvious?" Neos bluntly stated, as everyone turned their attention towards him. "Yang's been feeling like second banana in the parental relationship compared to Damien and his mom!"

"So, you mean... Yang's jealous?" Gwen guessed.

"Not necessarily." The ex-rogue explained. "See, you guys have noticed how Yang's been acting during Damien's bonding with his mother, right?"

"Yeah, she's been acting kinda weird." Ruby remembered. "Almost like she's trying to be brave?"

"Well, Yang's relationship with her mother isn't exactly too great, given the circumstances..." Neos continued.

"And seeing me reconnect with my mother... makes her wanna do the same thing." Damien realized, as everyone else was worried for her sake. "Aw man, I can't believe I didn't think of that! I gotta go find her!" The crimson haired lad dashed out of the room to find her.

Meanwhile, at the giant tree on the Beacon grounds, Yang was sitting on a branch, her eyes red, but not with anger, but from crying. She closed her eyes and remembered the events that day; all the moments where Hotaru and Damien were bonding with each other made the boisterous boxer burst into tears again. "Oh mother, why?" She bawled.

Damien looked upward when he heard her crying. His heart was wracked with guilt; he never meant to made her feel so inadequate. He climbed up the tree, before sitting next to her. "Um, hey Yang." He whispered.

Yang turned to the side, and saw Damien sitting beside her. "Oh *sniff* H-Hi Damien." She whimpered, still feeling choked up. "Why are you here?"

"Neos told me how you were feeling, I had no idea what it meant to you." Damien replied, while closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. You get to bond with you mother, and I'll never get that feeling with my mom." Yang glumly stated.

"Yang, come on! Don't say that." Damien tried to assure her, but Yang snapped.

"Then what is it, Damien?! I mean, your mom gets to come back after 10 years, and yet my mom doesn't come back! IT'S NOT FAIR DAMMIT!" Yang screamed, her eyes filled with tears. But when she saw Damien feeling scared by her outburst, she swiftly turned her head away. "I-I'm sorry."

"Yang..." Damien muttered.

"Is it because of me? Am I... a terrible daughter?" She thought aloud to herself. "Does she not want anything to do with me?"

"You still that talk right now!" Damien shouted, startling Yang. "Don't you EVER short-sell yourself like that, GOT IT?!"

"D-Damien?" The blonde boxer squeaked.

"You're sweet, funny, strong, you're a caring older sister to Ruby; any parent would be lucky to have a daughter like yourself." The crimson haired lad stated.

Yang was stunned by what he said. "B-But why did she..." She was cut off when Damien pulled her into a warm embrace.

"Listen Yang, I don't know why your mother did what she did, but I'm certain she still loves you." Damien smiled. "After all, it is a mother's duty to always nurture their child, and keep them safe from the dangers that may come their way... no matter where they are." Yang listened carefully, as tears started to roll down her cheeks again. "I promise you, everything will be okay between you and your mom. I mean, wasn't your goal trying to get answers from her? So, please..." Damien lifted her face, before gently wiping the tears away. "Don't bottle your emotions like that, Yang. It's not healthy." He felt a small chuckle emitting from her. "I'll always be by your side."

"Damien..." Yang shed tears again, but out of joy instead of sadness. "Thank you so much!" She covered her head, onto her boyfriend's chest.

Damien held her, while stroking her head. "Well, you've always managed to cheer me up whenever I've been feeling down; this time it's my turn to do the same. Besides, I love seeing that beautiful smile of yours." She looked up, and he saw the best smile ever. "That's the one!"

"Oh Damien, you're such a kind soul. I'm so lucky to have a boyfriend such as yourself. I-I love you." Yang commented, as she pressed her lips onto his. "Let's just stay out here and enjoy this moment."

Damien smiled. "Sounds perfect. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than with you, Yang." The two rested their heads to each other, as they watched the sunset.

* * *

 **Yup, that ends this chapter. Honestly, if this isn't the slightest bit of a tear-jerker, then I give up with trying to be deep. In all honestly, I thought that Raven Branwen would be the kind of mother who, while she looks like has no regards for her family, still cares for her daughter in a small way. Of course, Volume 4 may have derailed my hopes for her a bit, but I still stand by thoughts. Next time, the plot shall thicken, especially with some familiar faces showing up. Until then, I'll see you next time, and also, love your mother!**


	46. Mini Halloween Chapter Story Updates

**I'm back! Sort of... It's a short chapter, and I'll explain why later.**

* * *

Halloween is a wonderful time, and it certainly was festive in Beacon Academy. All of the students and professors partied hard in their annual Halloween shindig. Everyone was sound asleep, except for our everyday dynamic dozen. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and DRGN decided to sneak into the lecture hall at night for an exchange of scary stories.

"...And then, the monster bit off everybody's heads!" Neos bellowed, with a flashlight under him.

"STOP! No more!" Damien pleaded, as everybody else was shaking in their boots.

The ex-rogue rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "Aw come on, that wasn't even the best part, and you crybabies are already done? Psh!"

"Perhaps I can spin a tale of true terror?!" A flash of lightning revealed Professor Port right behind them, as everybody screamed.

"Professor Port!" Ruby said. "What are you doing here?"

Port chuckled, before sitting between Ruby and Damien. "I've heard you children were telling stories, and I thought "Why not join in on the fun?""

Yang raised an eyebrow. "And what story do you have for us?"

"Let me tell you the story of my great grand-pappy, Seamus Port, one of the finest Huntsmen in all of Remnant!" Peter Port spoke. "Long ago, he was also once a Professor of Beacon, the best expert on Grimm Species. He was a legend during that time; not a single Grimm creature could lay a paw on him, nor could any Huntsman or Huntress compete with him. In their eyes, he was a god!"

"So... What happened to him?" Jaune asked.

"Legends say that Shamus Port disappeared in a battle against the mightiest Grimm Army to this day. No one knows where he wandered off to..." The Professor stated.

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to be scared, because this tale's putting me to sleep instead." Neos mumbled.

"Hush, young man!" Port shushed him. "I was getting to that part. You see, students say that the spirit of Seamus Port haunts these very lecture halls... ON THIS... VERY... NIGHT!" He bellowed, as a mysterious green-faced being turned on the light switch, scaring everyone.

However, it was only Professor Goodwitch, who was wearing a pink night-gown, as well as a skin-mask. "What is going on here?!" Glynda glared.

Neos was about to comment of her appearance, but she pointed her riding crop at him. "One word out of you and you'll be scrubbing the entire lecture hall!" She shouted, shutting him up. She narrowed her eyes towards Professor Port, who was trying to sneak away. "Peter, are you telling stories about your great grandfather again?"

"Uh, n-no Miss Goodwitch! D-don't be silly..." Port weakly lied.

Professor Goodwitch sighed before addressing the students. "All right, everyone go back to your dorms THIS INSTANT!" She ordered, as the twelve students quickly exited the halls, while avoiding eye-contact with Glynda.

Professor Port looked out the window, before a spirit formed up in front of him. "Aye, you've got some fine Huntsmen and Huntresses in the making. Well done, my boy!" The spirit commended him.

Port smiled, before wiping a tear away. "Aww... Thanks Great grand-pappy."

* * *

 **There we go! So anyways, here's the deal. I'm been busy with life lately, school and other shit, and I've haven't been able to find time to write these chapters. Plus, I have a bad case of writer's block, what with coming up with ideas and scrapping others. So for the time being, this story is on Hiatus! So sorry for this, but it has to be done. Anyways, I'll see you when I see you, and Happy Halloween! :-3**


	47. Crossover DRGN DMON: The Dark Fang Pt 1

**Greetings folks, you're probably wondering if I'm still on Hiatus for this story. Well, I still am, but while I hope to get back on track with the main plot eventually, let's have another crossover chapter. This is a sequel chapter to the crossover chapter that I did with the OCs of RWBY fan, Blazing-Saint, which was over a year ago. I had some ideas that I wanted to try out, so here's hoping it is all good in the hood.**

* * *

Weeks passed since the Grimm populating incident in The Emerald Forest was carried out by a member of the White Fang, which was thankfully thwarted by the efforts of Team DRGN as well as Team DMON. Thanks to them, students were now free to train to their heart's content. As for the two teams, they were able to form a strong bond with one another.

Naomi and Gwen became really close with each other, with the former being a bit too close. Ryu and Leonidas found pleasure in exploring the Eastern culture. Neos and Francesca loved playing video games against one another, despite them getting very competitive. Finally, Damien and Iskandar found common ground with their Faunus heritage, while occasionally threatening to beat up Team CRDL to a pulp if they would ever go too far.

The two teams were enjoying some bonding time, playing some eight-player smash bros action in Team DRGN's dorm room. "And that's that. This game's winner is... ME!" Neos jumped up and strutted in front of the annoyed seven players. "The undefeated smash king!"

"Pfft! Yeah right. If you didn't side-step, I totally would have whooped your ass!" Francesca pouted.

"Uh-huh, spoken like a sore loser." The ex-rogue taunted the enraged brunette.

"That's it! You wanna go, Neos?!" Francesca got into a fighting stance.

"Bring it, Fran-Cakes!" Neos yelled back, as they charged towards each other. Damien and Ryu held back Neos, while Iskandar and Leonidas restrained Francesca.

"Okay, clearly your competitive natures are going to be a bit of a problem." Leonidas stated.

"Yeah, maybe we should play something a little more... relaxing?" Iskandar asked.

Damien rubbed his chin before remembering something. "Oh yeah, I know what could work." He walked to his closet, and brought out a red box. "How about this?"

"Whoa! Is that a Nintendo switch?!" Naomi exclaimed.

"How did you get a hold of that, Damien?" Ryu wondered.

"Well, my dad got me this as an early Christmas gift. Check it out, it came included with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!" The crimson haired lad cheered.

Gwen clapped her hands in glee. "Oh goodie, let's get to it!"

However, before they could play the new console, there was a knock on the door, as Professor Goodwitch addressed the two teams. "Excuse me, but Headmaster Ozpin wants to speak to the eight of you."

Damien turned towards Neos. "Okay, what did you do this time?"

The ex-rogue stammered. "Hey, those crickets in the teacher's lounge weren't mine! I mean, what crickets in the teacher's lounge?" He fibbed, as his classmates facepalmed.

"Just come with me!" Glynda glared at Neos, as the eight students followed the professor.

As the eight students entered the Headmaster's office, they noticed a high-ranking Atlesian soldier standing alongside Ozpin, General Ironwood's right-handed man, Lieutenant Ivan Stone, who was quite young for most Lieutenants.

"I thank you all for coming here, today. I must apologize for summoning you here so often." Ozpin admitted.

"No worries, Professor Ozpin. What can we do for you this time?" Damien asked.

The headmaster nodded. "Perhaps Lieutenant Stone can brief you in on this one." He motioned as the young Lieutenant stepped up.

"Right, Headmaster Ozpin informed the Atlesian Army about the recent Grimm Infestation last late month, especially by a member of the White Fang." Ivan reminded them.

"That's right." Gwen remembered. "To think, a White Fang member was in our very Academy."

"Correct." The Lieutenant turned towards the two red-haired leaders. "Now, Mr. Crimson and Mr. Drakon, it was made clear that you two faced off against the Shark Faunus known as Taron Mako, is that true?"

Iskandar closed his eyes, and clenched his fist. "Yes, but we were unable to stop Mako!"

"Well, you two should be glad you were able to survive encountering him." Lieutenant Stone commended them. "Taron Mako is no ordinary White Fang soldier!"

"What do you mean by that, Lieutenant?" Leonidas questioned.

The young Lieutenant pulled out a chart with seven figures on it. "After doing some research, we have discovered that Taron Mako is actually one of seven deadly super-soldiers designed by the White Fang; created specifically to top the strength of the strongest Huntsmen and Huntresses across Remnant!" He revealed to the shocked teams. "Taron Mako goes by the codename - The Shark. The other members have codenames given based on the Faunus they originate from; such as The Serpent, The Bull, The Hawk, The Killer-Bee, and The Tiger."

"Wait a minute, you said there were seven of them, but you just listed six of them!" Neos pointed out.

"Yeah, what's the deal with that?" Francesca added.

"At this time, we are unable to identify the seventh member, but we do know is that their strength is way too powerful for them to be unleashed across Remnant." Lieutenant Stone said. "Therefore, they must be captured and sealed away, before they can cause any sort of destruction."

"But how are we supposed to find out where they are hiding?" Ryu wondered.

"Yeah. Besides, how did this little project even begin in the first place?" Naomi questioned.

Lieutenant Stone turned to the side, before speaking. "As I've stated before, the Atlesian Army doesn't have the full details about them, but perhaps a former member of the White Fang can shed some light on them. It's someone that you all know very well." He stated as their good friend, Blake Belladonna, greeted everyone.

"Blake?" Iskandar was surprised to see his former fellow member here.

"That's right, Blake was also a member of the White Fang." Damien remembered. "But wait, if you're coming with us, shouldn't the rest of Team RWBY be here too?"

Blake shook her head before answering. "Ruby and Yang are spending the day with their uncle, and Weiss is busy with her date with Neptune. Besides, it's better that they don't get involved with this mission - this is something I wanted to put an end to a long time ago!"

Ozpin butted in, before she could elaborate any further. "Pardon me, but perhaps you should save the explanation for when you head out."

"Good point." Lieutenant Stone nodded. "All right, the nine of you come with me to the Bullhead!"

After the students got their weapons ready, they boarded the aircraft. "Say Izzy? You're a former member of the White Fang, do you know anything about this project?" Neos questioned.

Iskandar shook his head. "No, I left the White Fang way before they conceived of it."

"As you may already know, the White Fang was originally a peaceful organization, until the organization took a violent turn." Blake reminded them.

"Yes, we're already aware of the actions that the White Fang have done." Leonidas replied.

"Well, during those moments, the Atlesian Army was called in to subdue us. Seeing as Atlas had much better technological advances over us, we didn't stand a chance. To counter the power of the Atlesian soldiers, the White Fang decided to do something very similar to top them - by creating the ultimate super-soldier program." The young cat Faunus explained. "With the help of the White Fang's top scientists, and with the pilfered Atlesian technology, they were able to convert seven of our strongest members into unstoppable killing machines!"

"Yikes, when you put it like that, that makes a Beowolf look as harmless as... Zwei." Damien muttered.

"Believe me, Damien, this is far from pleasant. They were experimented on constantly, the amount of hell they were put through; by the time it was over, they weren't even human or Faunus at this point!" Blake snapped. "Sure, they became the ultimate weapons to topple humanity; the only problem was that they became TOO powerful for the White Fang to control!"

Everyone was on edge from the story Blake was telling. "Whoa, so what happened?" Naomi wondered. "Was the White Fang able to maintain control?"

"It was impossible, because not only did they kill every human that they encountered, but they even slaughtered any fellow organization members who would stand in their way." Blake continued. "They became so focused on bloodshed, that they were given a different name - The Dark Fang!"

"The Dark Fang, huh? How original..." Neos snarkered. "So, how exactly did these guys break loose?"

"It was clear to everyone that these converted Faunus could not be allowed to roam. Therefore, the only thing that we could do was to imprison each Dark Fang member into a Freezer chamber, and destroy all evidence about the program." The cat Faunus continued. "However, the lead scientist who was in charge of the program, Dr. Noir Ratigan, was able to uncover the seven members of the Dark Fang. He stole the chambers that contained them, set up a new base, and revived the Dark Fang program in the hopes of overthrowing humanity! They're already so powerful alone, but when they are all together, this will spell disaster for all of Remnant."

There was a long silence, before Gwen spoke up. "I can't believe they would conceive of something so twisted!"

"Surely Dr. Ratigan would know the consequences of reviving the Dark Fang, but the question is why would he even do it in the first place?" Ryu pondered.

"I don't know, and I don't care!" Iskandar growled. "When I get my claws on that rat, I won't rest until I suffocate him with his own tail!"

"I suggest you still that temper of yours, Mr. Drakon." Lieutenant Stone spoke through a hologram. "There is still the matter of the Dark Fang Faunus. While they are far different from the Original WF members, it is our belief that by undoing the augmentations from the programs, they should be able to return to their normal selves."

"What exactly are you gonna do to them afterwards?" Francesca asked.

"Though the general public would prefer seeing them executed, the Atlesian Army wishes to save their lives... before it's too late." Ivan grimly stated.

"What do you mean by 'too late?'" Damien wondered.

"I'll explain after the mission is complete, Mr. Crimson. In any case, we are now arriving at the foot of the Dark Fang's Stronghold!" Lieutenant Stone spoke, as the airship hovered above the building, located at the abandoned streets of Mount Glenn. "Once you enter inside, your job is to defeat all seven members of the Dark Fang. However, at mentioned before, they are far superior from the White Fang Faunus, as their power have been greatly enhanced! Even though it is our wishes to spare them, should they prove to be too strong, you may have to kill them."

"I see..." Blake muttered.

"If you should require any assistance, notify me or General Ironwood, and we shall send backup immediately!" Lieutenant Stone added. "Good luck, children."

Once the hologram disappeared, all nine students leapt off the Bullhead, while landing safely at the entrance. Once they entered, they saw a huge corridor with four different entrances. "Geez, it sure looked smaller from the outside." Naomi commented. "Where do we even start?"

"Well, I guess we split up into four groups." Damien stated. "Same pairings as before, Iskandar?"

The Dragon Faunus nodded. "Sounds good, Damien." He answered, as Neos and Francesca went through the left door; Gwen and Naomi went through the door closest to the right; Leonidas and Ryu entered the second door to the left; while Blake, Iskandar, and Damien entered through the second door to the right.

As the pairs entered the doors, they were unaware that a certain Rat-tailed Faunus was watching them via cameras. "Heh, fools. You have no idea what you're getting yourselves into!" He faced the six Dark Fang Faunus members standing in front of them. "What do you say we go ahead and greet our guests?" They nodded as they swiftly vanished. Dr. Ratigan turned towards a chamber that contained the seventh member. "Soon, my pet. Once your power reaches full capacity, you will lead me to victory. Soon, both the Human race and the White Fang will be obliterated, and we will be the dominant race!" He cackled.

As Neos and Francesca entered their room, they noticed several training dummies that were sliced into pieces or smashed to bits. "Yeesh, whoever lives here clearly has issues." The brunette muttered.

Suddenly, a loud crash noise was heard, as a heavily-armored Bull Faunus burst through the doors. He eyed Francesca, as he angrily growled. "I will smash the puny red-head!" He stomped as he brought out a large warhammer.

"I don't think so, cow!" Francesca glared, while bring out her axe, Krakatoa. "You're going down!"

"I think not." A female voice was heard, as a green-haired Tiger Faunus dashed alongside her companion. She drew out three katanas, wielding two on her heads while the third she held with her tail.

"Huh... interesting technique." Neos commented, while extending his Claws of Mjolnir. "Mind telling us your names?"

"I am Jade Von Tigress, the bull Faunus beside me is Titanius Bulu." The Tiger introduced, before pointing her weapon at the duo. "And you two, have no hope of defeating us!"

"We'll see about that!" The ex-rogue retorted, while shooting a lightning bolt at them.

In the second room, Ryu and Leonidas noticed the room was extremely spacious, as a bumblebee Faunus was sitting down... sniffing flowers. "Oh hi, nice of you to drop by!" She innocently waved. "The name's Flora Beatrice."

The two looked in confusion before addressing her. "Excuse me Ms. Beatrice, but we are looking for the Dark Fang members that are in this building." The young samurai explained, while quietly drawing his Yahto Blade.

"Yes, so unless you mean us any harm, I suggest you comply and come with us this instant." The dark ninja ordered, before drawing the two katanas that form Orion's Belt.

Flora pouted, before getting up. "Aw, come now fellas. Don't you wanna just relax and... smell the flowers?" She smirked, as she brought out a pair of poisonous crossbows.

Before they could retaliate, the two swordfighters jumped back to avoid a rain of knives. "Tch, damn it Flora! You gave away my trap!" A male grey hawk Faunus swooped down, as his wings fluttered.

"Sorry Chroma!" Flora shrugged, as her Bumblebee wings sprung into action, taking flight with her winged friend.

"Hmm, a Hawk Faunus and a Bee Faunus, that would explain why there's so much room here." Ryu said.

"Bah! Human scum... My name is Chroma Hawkins, and I swear that when I'm done with you, you 'll wish that you were never born!" The Hawk glared.

Leon shook his head. "Simple-minded Hawk, why must you detest humans so much? We're not all bad you know."

"Silence!" Hawkins screeched as he shot out another wave of knives at them.

In the next room, Naomi and Gwen trekked through a very sandy room, when a large anaconda popped up between the two girls. "EEK! A snake!" Naomi screamed, as she clung onto Gwen. "Quick Gwen, kill it!"

"It's okay, Naomi. I'm sure he means no harm." The archer assured her. However, the snake hissed at her, nearly biting her hand. "Yikes!"

"Fang! Heel!" A female voice called out, as the snake slithered over to its owner; a female Snake Faunus that had a pair of Viper Fangs in her mouth, while wearing quite the revealing dress. "Hello ladies, Medusa LeViper's the name, and I see you've met my darling pet, Fang." She spoke as Fang wrapped itself around her.

Naomi was drooling over the Serpent. "Hamina hamina hamina..."

"Naomi, please! Now is not the time to be fawning over the enemy!" Gwen tried to snap her out of the trance.

"It's quite all right, dear. I do have quite the appeal on most folks." Medusa winked, before whipping out a pair of bladed fans. "Besidesss, I wouldn't mind helping myself to two ssscrumptiosss femalesss..." She spoke seductively, with a wave of her fan.

"Oh dear, this is one harem I hope to avoid." Gwen thought to herself. "Well, me and Naomi can take you and Fangs easily!" She stated, while bringing out her IceBorn Bow.

"Don't forget about me!" A familiar voice called out as a certain Shark Faunus sprung out from the sand, flashing his shark teeth.

"Mako!" Naomi glared, as she brought out her trident, Poseidon's Blessing. "You've got a lot of nerve, trying to infest our Academy with those Grimm!"

The Shark chuckled. "Oh please, I was just having a little fun. Besides, you're on my turf now, and I see a delicious meal right in front of my eyes!" He licked his lips.

"Shall we dance?" Medusa spoke, as she had Fang slither into a small hole.

Mako sprung his arm blades, and dashed towards the two girls. He swung his arms to perform a cross slash, as Naomi and Gwen dodged, but Medusa ran up to the blue haired girl, kicking her in the stomach.

"Naomi!" Gwen shouted, as Mako tackled her to the sandy floor. He was about to strike but the archer kneed him in the gut, before throwing him off.

Meanwhile, at an abandoned building loft within Mountain Glenn, General Ironwood and Lieutenant Stone waited as they saw an unknown Bullhorn landing by them, while the soldiers had their weapons ready. The airship had a white symbol that was scratched out to maintain any anonymity. As the Bullhorn landed, two black-haired Faunus emerged from the aircraft, while wearing brown cloaks to conceal their identity; they were also husband and wife.

General Ironwood was the first to greet the couple. "Thank you for coming here, today."

The male Faunus scowled at the officers, before his wife put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You had better have a good reason for dragging us out here. If anyone were to see us like this, we'd be killed right on the spot!"

Lieutenant Stone nodded, as he addressed. "Our apologies, sir. We would not have dragged you and your wife out here for no good reason whatsoever. However, the current issue at hand affects all of us."

"What do you mean?" The female Faunus asked.

The two high-ranked Atlesians nodded towards each other, as the Lieutenant explained. "Are you familiar about the super-soldier experiment that the White Fang once conducted; the Dark Fang?"

The male Faunus growled, while his wife looked uneasy. "What game are you playing, Lieutenant?"

The guards were about to take aim, but General Ironwood ordered them to stand down. "This is no game! One of the organization's former scientists has gone rogue, and has revived the program. Not only that, but nine students from Beacon Academy have infiltrated the stronghold; some human and some Faunus."

"I see, and why does this concern us?" The male Faunus asked.

"Out of those students fighting off the Dark Fang, Blake Belladonna is one of them." The General stated, as the two Faunus' eyes widened.

As for the remaining room, Blake, Damien, and Iskandar continued their walk through the hallway. "So, after they go through the experiments, do those Faunus lose their free will?" Damien asked, as Blake nodded.

"At first, they would appear to be just fine. But as time moves on, they start to deteriorate; not just mentally, but physically." The cat Faunus spoke.

"What do you mean by that?" Iskandar wondered.

"The amount of chemicals and resources that goes into those Faunus takes too energy, and their bodies can't take it. The only way to keep them safe is to preserve them in test tubes until they were fully restored. If those Faunus were left out for too long, their bodies would gradually dissolve until there's nothing left!" Blake grimly stated.

The two red haired leaders were shocked at the horror that Blake described. "I don't believe it! How did something so atrocious ever come to be?" The crimson haired lad demanded to know.

"Not all of us agreed with this decision. However, when Adam Taurus assumed control over our faction, all he wanted was to have the human race grovel to his feet." Blake sadly spoke. "To that end, he was willing to do anything to achieve that goal, even if it meant using some of his own men for his own selfish desires! Even my father, who was once a former leader of the White Fang, was powerless to save the Faunus who perished to the harsh experiments..."

As the trio reached a door, Iskandar shook his fist in anger. "Damn it, Taurus! Do we really mean nothing to you at all?!" He growled, as the door opened to reveal Dr. Ratigan waiting for them.

"Oh please, you're just painting Adam in a bad light." The Rat Faunus waved off. "After all, you treacherous fools fail to see just what we're truly capable of!"

"How? By turning them into the monsters that society deemed them?! It's bastards like you that give a Faunus a bad name!" Damien angrily glared.

"Pah, half-human trash! Who are you to speak to the White Fang like that, as if you honestly think that you are worth anything here?" Ratigan retorted. "The only thing you are is a worthless abomination stuck between the line of Human and Faunus!"

The crimson haired lad was silenced, but Iskandar jumped to his defence. "Damien is not worthless nor is he a freak!" The Dragon-Faunus yelled back, while drawing out his sword. "He has felt the torment of being Faunus, and has suffered the same as us. Not only that, but he knows our plight and fights to preserve what Faunus truly stand for! In fact, he's more of a Faunus than you'll ever be, Dr. Ratigan!"

Damien was stunned, but he smiled back. "Thanks, Iskandar." He turned towards the mad scientist. "And you can bet that I won't let this rat slip by!" He said as he activated his flamethrower gauntlets.

"We'll see about that!" Dr. Ratigan smirked, as he reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a flash grenade. He tossed it as it exploded, enveloping the room in a bright light. After the light dimmed down, several White Fang goons appeared, as they had thicker, darker armor than the original and stronger weapons. "Members of the Dark Fang, show these cretins no mercy. Make them see the true might of the Faunus!" He ordered, as the battle raged on.

Meanwhile, after hearing the news from General Ironwood and Lieutenant Stone, the male Faunus was close to going berserk. "Please tell me this is some sort of joke!"

"Ghira, please calm down!" His wife, Kali Belladonna, pleaded. "Whether you like it or not, our daughter Blake has decided to face off against the Dark Fang."

The General spoke up. "Yes Mr. Belladonna. Your daughter insisted that she would come along in this mission, even though we advised her against it without your consent."

Kali gasped, while Ghira was puzzled. "Our consent? Kali, what did she mean by that?"

"Don't you know how much the Dark Fang project impacted you? How the lives lost tormented you every night?" Kali explained. "Blake knew how much distress it gave you, and she wanted to do everything she could to help!"

Lieutenant Stone nodded. "Indeed. After she learned about the survivors of the project, she wanted to help save their lives, in order to help you."

At the moment, Ghira knew just how much pressure he had inadvertently put on his daughter. "By god, I've been such a fool... I've got to go and help her and her friends right now! Maybe there's still time to save those poor Faunus as well."

General Ironwood nodded. "Of course, sir. After all, we know you've figured out a way to reverse the process." He turned towards his second-in-command. "Lieutenant Stone, I want you to accompany Mr. Belladonna to the Dark Fang Stronghold!"

Lieutenant Stone saluted. "Yes sir!"

"Wait, let me go too!" Kali requested.

"No Kali. It's too dangerous there!" Ghira insisted.

"Your husband's got a point, ma'am." General Ironwood added. "Besides, we need your help to set everything up once they return, if we are to save the corrupted Faunus."

The older cat Faunus complied, as Lieutenant Stone and Ghira walked into a vehicle before speeding off. Kali closed her eyes, and folded her hands. "Blake... Ghira... Please be careful." She prayed.

* * *

 **Part one is complete. I'll be honest, when I first conceived of this plot, it gradually evolved into something much bigger. Again, I'm not much of a story-writer, but I am trying my best to learn. Keep in mind, while I wanted to keep it to just Teams DRGN and DMON, I felt like Blake should be involved, since this would be something that she would do; that's why I needed a reason to keep Ruby, Weiss, and Yang out of the affairs. Anywho, part two should hopefully be done before the end of the year. And again, to anyone who wishes to learn more about Team DMON, check out Blazing-Saint's story (RWBY Heroic Demons).**


	48. Crossover DRGN DMON: The Dark Fang Pt 2

**Greetings ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the second half of the Super Special Crossover Chapter between me and Blazing-Saint. Just a fair warning, this is a very long read, since I included a little epilogue at the end there. Enjoy!**

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Dark Fang stronghold, the students of Beacon continued their battle with the Dark Fang. Naomi and Gwen went toe-to-toe with Taron Mako and Medusa LeViper. Gwen summoned her ice knight as she tried to strike the Shark. However, he used the sandy terrain to his advantage, as he dove into the sand to avoid the blows. Eventually, he dug behind Gwen to punch her in the back of the hand. Thankfully, Naomi shot a water bubble from her weapon to knock away the Faunus.

"Phew, thanks Naomi!" Gwen smiled.

Naomi waved to her, but at that moment, Medusa jumped in front of the blue-haired teen and with a flash of her eyes, she turned her to stone.

"NOOO!" The archer screamed at the sight of her immobilized friend. Mako used that chance to retaliate, and generated a massive sandstorm to trap Gwen. He dashed into the sandstorm, as the two of them traded blows with each other. After shooting a volley of ice arrows at the Shark Faunus, trapping him in ice, she leapt up and drop-kicked him.

"Hmm, not bad." Mako grinned. "But you do honestly think you can win? I mean, those red-heads couldn't even stop me!"

Gwen lined up her IceBorn Bow, as she glared. "I don't care how powerful you are; threaten the people I care about, you'll get no mercy from me!" She was about to fire, Medusa threw one of her fans, knocking the bow out of her hands. Medusa dashed towards her, as she and Mako started overwhelming her.

Mako was about to finish her off, but there was a loud sonic scream, which knocked back the two Faunus.

"Naomi!" Gwen rejoiced, as Naomi was able to break free from her stone imprisonment.

"Oh? Now how did you free herself?" Medusa wondered.

Naomi waved her right arm, while wielding Poseidon's Blessing. "Simply put, you missed my arm. So, I used my weapon's water blaster to burst the stone." She smirked.

The Shark and The Serpent looked at each other, before nodding. "Well ladies, it's been fun, but we must bid you adieu!" Medusa smirked, before flashing another light from her eyes. The two girls shielded their eyes to avoid contact, but when they looked, the two Faunus disappeared.

"Where'd they go?" Gwen wondered.

"Not sure, but we need to get a move on!" Naomi pointed out. However, when they tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge. "Damn, now what?" She complained, as a loud noise was heard.

"What was that?" Gwen wondered. The ceiling opened its hatch, as sand poured into the room. "Oh no! What do we do?!" The archer panicked, as the two girls struggled to find a way out.

Ryu and Leonidas continued to duke it out with the winged Faunus duo of Chroma Hawkins and Flora Beatrice. Flora shot several bolts from her crossbows, which Ryu deflected with his blade. After dodging them, Chroma swooped down to tackle the young swordsman, but he leapt over the hawk Faunus and countered with a wind wave.

While Leonidas was dodging Flora's crossbow shots, he activated his semblance to teleport behind the Bee Faunus, and shot a few sticky arrows from his bow on her wings. The Killer Bee plummeted to the ground, where the ninja was about to land on top of her. However, Flora pulled down her scarf and shot out a swarm of Rapier Wasps from her neck. Leon was caught off guard, as his dive attack was intercepted with Flora shooting two poisonous bolts into his chest.

"Neat trick, huh?" Flora giggled, as she rapidly fluttered her wings to remove the sticky adhesive. After taking flight again, Leonidas decided to teleport for another sneak attack. Only this time, the Rapier Wasp poison had weakened his strength as the Bee Faunus kicked Leon down.

Meanwhile, Ryu and Chroma continued their duel. The young samurai was able to dodge the hawk Faunus' knives. But then, as he swooped down to repeat the attack from before, the samurai jumped to avoid the aerial assault too soon. Chroma then ascended upwards and grabbed Ryu's upper body, as they reach a high altitude, before the two swiftly descended downward. Chroma clung on Ryu, as the two crashed hard into the ground.

"Ngh, was that really worth it?" Ryu muttered.

Chroma growled, as Flora helped him up. "Don't you preach to me, soon you'll all be getting what you deserved." He glared, as he flapped his hawk wings, creating a large chrome dust cloud, onto the two swordfighters. Ryu waved his Yahto Blade, as the two winged Faunus disappeared.

After recovering from his skirmish, Ryu ran over to check on Leon. "Are you all right, Leon?" He asked.

"Yes, I think so." Leonidas nodded, as he pulled the bolts from his body. "Hmm, these bolts were laced with Rapier Wasp poison. No wonder my attack was ineffective."

"Is that so?" The samurai said. "We need to get those wounds treated right away."

"I'll be fine." The ninja assured, but after grimacing at the poison, Ryu immediately pulled out a few blue herbs from the nearest bush and a rag from his pocket, before squeezing some of the liquid from the herbs.

"Show me the wounds." Ryu ordered to an reluctant Leonidas, as the rag absorbed the venom away, while it stung the ninja. "I know you have pride as a warrior, but should you leave that wound untreated, it was gravely affect your skill on the battlefield."

Leonidas nodded. "Thank you, Ryu." He heard a loud rustling coming from the tree, as a humongous swarm of Rapier Wasps swarmed out from its nest. "Tch, that is a problem."

Ryu grunted as he was unable to open the door. "And the door is stuck too. Leonidas, can you teleport us out of here?"

"Sorry, the venom took a good amount of energy from me. I can't activate it right now." Leon admitted.

"Hmm, in that case, get behind me!" The samurai spoke, as he dug his katana into the ground to create a wind-barrier around the two of them, preventing the swarm from overtaking them. Unfortunately, the swarm started to reproduce rapidly, as Ryu struggled to maintain it. "I just pray that everyone else is having better luck..."

Elsewhere, Neos and Francesca dodged a hammer swing from Titanius Bulu, while Jade Von Tigress dashed towards the ex-rogue. The young brunette swung her mighty battleaxe against the Bull Faunus' hammer, as the two were locked in a heated struggle. "Grr, you ain't no chance! I'll grab you by the horns, bull!" Francesca yelled.

"In your dreams, red-head! When I'm through with you, I'll be sure to shatter every single bone in your puny body!" Bulu threatened. The stalemate was eventually broken when Bulu head-butted the young brunette, with his horn getting caught on her shirt. Francesca rode the Bull Faunus, making sure not to get tossed off.

Meanwhile, the ex-rogue was continuing his best to keep up with the female tiger Faunus. After dodging multiple katana swings from Jade, Neos grabbed her arm, delivered a quick electric jolt to her body, and tossed her straight down.

"Hmph, I suppose I underestimated you..." Jade confessed.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Neos shrugged, before calling down a ray of lightning to electrocute her. However, Jade backflipped over Neos before shooting a green plasma projectile at the ex-rogue's face.

"It's time I show what my training has given me!" The Tiger Faunus stated, as she dashed towards Neos, slashing her three blades from her arms and tail at him, dealing a good amount of damage, before kicking him away.

Francesca continued to stay on top of Bulu, before she used her Geomancy Semblance to collapse a portion of the ceiling, as a large chunk of debris bonked Bulu on the head.

The Bull Faunus roared in pain, before shaking it off. "Gah! You little punk..." He angrily snorted, before he kicked his feet up, ready to charge at her. As Francesca landed, Bulu immediately ran towards the Brunette, while his body gave a metallic glow.

The brunette converted her axe into a rocket launcher, as she shot a large missile at the bull. Unfortunately, it had no effect on him once it exploded, as Bulu emerged from the smoke cover and rammed Francesca into a wall, causing the area to collapse. As the two emerged from the rubble, Bulu clutched his head, as Francesca took a knee, holding her arm in pain.

As the Bull Faunus raised his hammer to finish her off, Neos dashed towards him while spinning like a drill, to intercept the attack.

"You survived my onslaught? You are a lot stronger than I originally pegged you." Jade bowed towards the ex-rogue. "It was a worthy fight, Neos."

Neos smirked. "Thanks, Jade."

However, Bulu was deeply enraged that his attack was interrupted, as he slammed his hammer hard on the ground, causing the whole room to cave-in.

After the whole room was buried in stone, Neos emerged from the wreckage, only to notice that the two Dark Fang members were gone. "Sheesh, someone's got anger issues..." He heard a moan, as he turned towards where Francesca was buried, before helping up. "Hey, you all right?"

Francesca got up, before muttering. "Yeah... I guess." She pouted., angry about losing her match

The ex-rogue rolled his eyes before addressing the brunette. "Look, sometimes you can't win 'em all, it happens." Francesca shrugged before calming down a bit. "Let's just find a way out of here." However, there was a loud grinding noise, as the walls started to close-in on them. "Oh, that ain't good!" He yelled, as he dashed towards one side, trying to push it back.

Francesca ran to the other side, and struggled to push it back too. "Ngh! C'mon Neos, put your back into it!"

"Hello?! What do you think I'm trying to do, woman?!" Neos retorted.

"Shut up and push, damn it!" The brunette raged, as the two tried to prevent themselves from being squished.

As for the remaining room, Iskandar, Damien, and Blake finished defeating the Dark Fang goons before they cornered Dr. Ratigan. "It's over, Ratigan! Unless you don't wanna get burnt to a crisp, I suggest you surrender right now!" Damien ordered.

The Rat Faunus chuckled before pulling out a shotgun. "Foolish boy, do you honestly think you and your friends can even stop what I have created?"

"I know we can stop you and your twisted experiments! We will save those Faunus that you warped so long ago!" Iskandar glared.

"Save them?! You poor, naïve lizard... there is no saving them!" Ratigan cackled. "Those fools gave up their free will when they volunteered to be converted in the first place. They thought they were doing this to get back at the humans for their endless ridicule, they thought they were doing this to bring order to the White Fang. But in actuality, this was all part of my plan to overthrow humanity!" He revealed to the enraged trio, not realizing that a pair of eyes opened from the test tube behind them.

"What?! You mean you've been using them all along?" Blake yelled.

"That's right, Belladonna. And guess what, I'm the only one who can keep them in check. After all, should they be left out of their preservation chambers for too long, well... see for yourself." Ratigan pointed to the disintegrating Faunus in front of them.

"You... You monster!" The crimson haired lad yelled. "How could you do such a horrible thing?! Toying with lives like we're puppets in some sort of mad show, do you really think you can get away with this?!"

"Before I answer that, maybe you should take a look at this?" The rat doctor said, as he pushed a button to bring down a monitor from the ceiling. The three of them looked in horror as they saw Gwen and Naomi screaming while trying to avoid being buried in sand, then seeing Ryu and Leonidas being trapped in a wind barrier that was almost overwhelmed by Rapier Wasps, and finally watching Neos and Francesca trying to push back the closing walls. "Hmm, seems your friends weren't up to the challenge after all. What a shame..." He grinned evilly.

Iskandar's rage had reached full capacity, as he gripped his sword hard, before dashing towards Dr. Ratigan. "Bloody rat, I'll exterminate you!" He roared, as he was about to strike.

Before Iskandar could land the blow, a fist broke through the test tube, as an unknown visor-wearing foe intercepted the attack with his arm cannon. Dr. Ratigan was intrigued by that. "Oh, what's this? Why, your power hasn't reached 100% yet. Well, no matter. Now that you're awake, show this freaks what you're truly made of!" He ordered, but the unidentified Faunus stood still. "What's the matter, sleepy-head? I said, attack!"

"No." The Faunus spoke. "We are not your puppets for you to command."

Dr. Ratigan was surprised by his disobedience, but he got annoyed before he fired a shotgun blast at his creation. "I said, ATTACK! Do it, or I'll wipe you and your Dark Freak friends out of existence!"

However, the rat was met with a large energy blast from the Faunus' arm cannon, before there was an explosion. After the smoke cleared up, all that was left was the Doctor's shotgun... and his tail. "You may have created us, but we've no need for your treacherous lies!"

Damien, Blake, and Iskandar were shocked at how the Faunus completely obliterated Dr. Ratigan. "Who... Who are you?" Blake mouthed.

The Faunus faced them, before bringing out a giant two-handed axe that he held with just one hand. "My name is XZ..." He channeled his strength as wings and a long scaly tail extended from behind him. "...But you may call me... The Wyvern!"

"By the gods... Another Dragon Faunus?" Iskandar was stunned.

"I was created to drive the accursed human race to extinction, but I also see that even the Faunus of the White Fang are not above using deceit." XZ decreed. "I will use my full power to eliminate all who oppose the Dark Fang, until only those willing to serve us are alive!" He faced Blake, Iskandar, and Damien before asking them a question. "Misguided Faunus, why do you fight to preserve humanity? They are not worth saving. After all, you have all felt the suffering they have brought upon you."

"You're wrong XZ." Damien explained. "Sure, they've ridiculed us, but humans aren't all bad. We laughed, played, and even worked together with humans."

"It is true that humans took away some of our loved ones, but as I learned to mingle alongside them, I've learned to consider them my friends." Iskandar added. "I even consider them to be... family."

I strive for equality between humans and Faunus everywhere, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is not the answer at all." Blake chimed in. "I know we can achieve harmony between the two races... Please XZ, you've got to understand."

"There is nothing else to understand! Humans are nothing but worthless vermin that must be extinguished, and the White Fang are treacherous snakes that deserve no quarter!" XZ bellowed. "And if you three will not stand by my side, then all that is left is to crush you!" The Wyvern Faunus took flight, as he charged up his arm cannon. "Say good-bye!"

After firing a blast from his cannon, Damien countered with a few streams of fire from his flamethrower gauntlets, The Twin Dragon Fangs. The two waves collided in a fiery explosion, as Iskandar flew upwards to attack XZ with his gigantic sword, Draco Balrog. The corrupted Wyvern Faunus clashed his axe against the blade, as the two flew around the air while trading blow for blow.

"Listen of me, I used to think that humans were unimportant to me, and that I wanted nothing to do with them." Iskandar tried to explain. "Yes, it's true that humans were responsible for the death of my parents, and the White Fang leader, Adam Taurus killed my brother. But if none of that even happened, I would have never gotten the chance to enroll in Beacon Academy, and befriend so many human students!"

"Then you bring shame to your family and brethren!" XY retaliated, by driving Iskandar to the ground, before pinning him. "You should have incinerated them for what they have done! The only thing they understand is violence, and that is all they deserve; a bloody end!"

Before XZ could bring his axe down, Blake wrapped the ribbon portion of her weapon, Gambol Shroud, to restrain his arm. "Are you hearing yourself? You sound just like my friend, Ilia!" Blake stated. "When she lost her parents, she wanted to intact justice on the humans. However, as time went on, she started to travel down a slippery slope!" She then whispered quietly to herself. "I'm just hoping I can save her as well, before it's too late."

While Blake was distracted with her thoughts, XZ dragged Blake over to him, and grabbed hold of the Cat Faunus. He flew upwards with Blake in tow, before slamming her into a wall. "Hmph! Your friend seems to understand what we truly stand for. However, as long as she continues to serve under that weakling's rule, she is a lost cause, just like you!" He aimed his arm cannon at the Faunus, but to his surprise, it was a fire clone created by Blake, as it exploded in his face.

Damien then leapt upwards, with his arms and legs coated in flames, as he delivered an axe-kick to XZ, sending him downwards. "You can't allow yourself to live in hatred for the rest of your life. If you do, then all you are is just an empty shell of a Faunus. Don't you think you should at least try and co-exist with the other race?"

After hearing those words, XZ felt an immense anger burn up inside him. His body started to glow, as he unleashed a devastating explosion inside the building.

Meanwhile, at the Dark Fang entrance doors, Lieutenant Ivan Stone and Ghira Belladonna felt the ground shaking as they entered the building. "What on earth...?" Ivan muttered, as the four doors were busted open from the burst. The two of them noticed the six unconscious students lying in three of the four rooms.

Iskandar, Damien, and Blake kneeled in exhaustion after taking heavy damage from the blast. Even XZ was panting from using a lot of energy, but was still infuriated. "Co-exist... with humans?! Who are you to lecture me on matters like that?!" He roared, while struggling to get up. "Humans are the worst, and the White Fang are no better! They are nothing but hate-filled scum that deserve DEATH!"

Blake stood up, before crutching. "XZ... why? Why do you do this? Why do you hate us so much..." Her voice cracked while asking.

"Don't you think we tried to get along with humans?" Mako spoke up, as the six remaining members of the Dark Fang showed up, also appearing to be deteriorating.

"Whoa... what's happening to them?" Damien wondered.

"It's like they said... they've been out too long, and they are starting to fall apart." Iskandar remembered.

"We all had dreams of living normal lives along society." Medusa said.

"While some of us wished to pursue careers, the rest of us simply wanted to live peacefully." Flora sadly smiled.

"We did everything we could to fit in, but would anyone give us a chance? No!" Bulu yelled.

"No matter what we did, those damn humans discriminated us every single day!" Hawkins glared.

"Even the White Fang had their own personal agenda to use us as their own super weapons." Jade stated. "They forced us to participate in the Dark Fang program, turning us into monsters."

"And so... for that reason." XZ concluded. "We made a vow that all who have wronged us will be eliminated." He said as he charged up his arm cannon as aimed them at the trio. "Starting. with. YOU!" He fired a massive meteor sized blast at them. However, before it could connect, Lieutenant Stone leapt in front of them and deflected the projectile towards the ceiling. "What?!"

"I think not!" The Lieutenant declared, as the rest of Teams DRGN and DMON followed up behind him.

"Neos, Ryu, Gwen!" Damien said surprised.

Iskandar was just as surprised. "Francesca, Leonidas, Naomi! How did you guys escape?"

Neos shrugged. "Short answer, the Lieutenant heard our screams and blew open the doors to free us. And not a moment too soon..."

"Yeah, and that's not the only help that showed up." Naomi pointed, as Ghira awkwardly entered the wrecked room.

Blake's eyes widened. "D-Dad?!"

"Wait a minute... That's your father?!" Damien and Iskandar both yelled in surprise.

Leonidas smirked. "Yeah, we had the same reaction too."

The seven Dark Fang members glared towards the old Faunus. "Well, if it isn't the traitor, Ghira Belladonna." Mako gritted.

"Come to gawk at what we've become, have you?!" Hawkins yelled, to a disheartened Ghira.

"Members of the Dark Fang, it pains me to see you in such a state." Ghira explained. "I never wished for any of this to happen in the first place."

"Oh please, save your breath!" Bulu glared. "If you've hadn't left the White Fang, none of this would have happened at all. Face it, Ghira Belladonna; you did not care for us at all!"

"That is not true at all! Not a single day passed by, where I laid awake at night, thinking about all the suffering that you went through. I tried everything I could do to end these horrendous experiments, but my pleas were constantly ignored..." The old Faunus sadly spoke, as Blake rushed to morally support her father.

Flora spoke in a heartbroken tone. "Then why, Mr. Belladonna? Why did you leave us to be held captive by those rogue scientists? The tests they conducted, the chemicals they injected... They transformed us into something that we could never go back from." She started to cry, which saddened everyone in the room.

"Flora..." Hawkins spoke softly, while holding her hand.

Even XZ shed a single tear. "Now that Dr. Ratigan's gone, the only thing left for us is to wither away to nothing... We're all doomed, and there's nothing you can do to save us!" He tearfully roared.

Ghira's heart started to become heavy, but after some reassurance from Blake, he revealed something. "You're wrong, there is a way to save all of you. Ever since I left the White Fang, I've spent years trying to figure out a way to reverse the process. Thanks to the co-operation of the Atlesian Army, we've finally found the method to restoring all the corrupted Faunus back to their normal selves!"

The Dark Fang members were shocked at the news delivered. "Are you for real? You can actually turn us back to normal Faunus?" Mako questioned.

"Oh how wonderful!" Medusa cheerfully clapped. "Now I can finally live the life I've always wanted!"

"And what life would that be? Never-ending torment and ridicule from the humans?" Hawkins growled.

"Chroma is correct, who knows what awaits us if we go through with this." Jade nodded.

XZ remained quiet for a while, before speaking. "Mr. Belladonna, please answer me this; if we decide to undergo the reserving process, what is left for us outside the life of the Dark Fang? What else do you offer?"

Ghira nodded, before answering. "Simple. Once the process is finished, you may all accompany me back to Menagerie, where I promise you the most peaceful lives that a Faunus can have there. Afterwards, if you miss the city life, you can return back to Vale." The Faunus listened carefully to Mr. Belladonna's proposal, as he got down on one knee. "I promise you, I'll give you the freedom you deserve. Please, just give me one chance..."

Before they could answer, a loud alarm noise was heard. "Oh great, now what?!" Francesca grumbled.

A voice was heard over the intercom. " **Self-destruct sequence initiated. Three minutes until detonation."**

Everyone was shocked when they heard that. "Self-Destruct?! Oh no!" Blake shouted.

"Everyone remain calm!" Lieutenant Stone ordered.

Suddenly, a loud crumbling noise occurred, as a huge pillar toppled over and blocked the exit. However, to everyone's surprise, XZ held the pillar up. "Go! Now!"

"XZ?" Mako asked. "What are you..."

"Don't worry about me, everyone save yourselves!" The Wyvern Faunus grunted, while struggling to hold it. "JUST DO IT!"

 **"Two minutes until denotation."**

Before the pillar could topple over him, Iskandar and Damien dashed over to XZ and helped him lift the pillar. "What the... Why are you helping me?"

"Because you can't throw your life away!" Iskandar stated.

As the three of them struggled to hold the pillar up, two large stone pillars sprouted upwards, courtesy of Lieutenant Stone. "Move!"

Everyone dashed out of the room, as the entire building was starting to collapse. They all ran out of the stronghold, as everyone took cover from the explosion. Once the smoke cleared, they all gazed as the building was reduced to rubble.

"Well... that happened." Ryu muttered.

"So, what now?" Bulu asked, as a large Atlesian van pulled over right besides them.

General Ironwood stepped out of the vehicle. "Now we get to work." The general answered, as Lieutenant Stone saluted his boss.

Kali then dashed out of the van to greet her family. "Blake! Ghira!"

Blake's eyes widened, as she ran to her. "Mom!" She cried tearfully, as she and her father hugged her.

"That's your mom?!" Naomi yelled, surprised. "Wow, she's pretty hot for her age!" Everyone turned to face her, while Kali had an embarrassed blush on her face. "Oops, did I say that out loud?"

General Ironwood turned to address the seven Dark Fang members. "Members of the Dark Fang, as General of the Army of Atlas, I have come with the assistance of former White Fang Leader, Ghira Belladonna! We have designed the solution to reverse the corruption that the Dark Fang project has brought on you." Kali opened the van door to reveal seven test tubes.

"Test tubes? Again?" Hawkins grumbled.

General Ironwood shook his head. "Even though the only way to administer the cure will involve freezing you, we can assure you that it won't be for a long period of time. Once we restore you back to your normal selves, you will accompany Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna to the Faunus sanctuary of Menagerie, until you are ready to return back to civilization. I would need your answer quickly!"

Ghira turned to them. "Well, what do you say?" He asked, with a small smile.

The Faunus remained silent, until a voice spoke up. "I accept." XZ stepped forward, while removing his visor.

Flora then stepped up. "Me too!"

"And so will I!" Medusa said as she stepped up.

Ghira smiled as Mako, Jade, Bulu, and Hawkins eventually decided to follow suit. After all seven former Dark Fang members entered each chamber, they were cryogenically frozen and then hauled up to be taken to Atlas HQ. After General Ironwood and Lieutenant Stone departed with them, Blake's parents turned to the nine students. "I wish to thank you all so much for everything that you have done today! For years, I have trying to figure out a way to reverse the effects of the Dark Fang Project, and thanks to your efforts, we are now able to save all survivors of that twisted experiment." He then bowed to them. "For that, you have my gratitude. Especiallfy you... Blake."

Blake shed tears of joy. "Happy to help... father." Damien put a comforting hand. "Of course, I could not have done it alone." The Faunus smiled.

Kali then spoke up. "You're lucky to have such thoughtful friends, my dear. Everyone, thank you for looking out for our daughter."

"The pleasure was all ours, Mrs. Belladonna." Iskandar bowed. "So, what's going to happen to the Faunus after the remedy is complete?"

Ghira addressed them. "Well, once the experiment is complete, they'll be accompanying us back to Menagerie in order for them to recuperate in peace. Once that's over, they can either stay there with us, or they can return back to Vale; the choice is theirs." Before the Belladonnas exited, Ghira faced them again. "If you wish to see how they are doing, you're free to visit us anytime you like."

Everyone was surprised by that. "Whoa, really?" Gwen questioned.

"Of course." And with that, Ghira and Kali exited the scene via a Bullhorn.

After the nine students were left, one Atlas soldier was waiting by another helicopter. "So, everyone ready to go back to Beacon?

They all nodded, as they boarded the air vehicle. "Phew! Hell of a day..." Francesca sighed.

"Yes, it certainly was something." Ryu nodded.

As Blake was facing out a window, Damien noticed. "Blake, you feeling okay?"

Blake turned towards the crimson haired lad. "Yes, Damien. I've accomplished something my father sought out to do, so many years ago. At last, this is a huge step towards equality between Faunus and humans.

"We can only hope..." Iskandar muttered, as the chopper rode off into the sunset.

 **Epilogue**

One year had passed since the battle between the students of Beacon and the Faunus of the now-discontinued Dark Fang. A huge sailboat arrived at the docks of Menagerie, as Teams DRGN and DMON got off the boat, as well as Blake. "Ugh, finally... I thought we'd never get there." Neos grumbled.

"Yeah, thanks for nearly getting puke on my shoes." Damien glared.

"What? I get seasick easily!" The ex-rogue yelled.

"So, which way do we go?" Naomi asked.

"Maybe I can show you the way?" A familiar bee Faunus spoke up, as Flora flew towards the group.

"Hi Flora!" Gwen smiled.

"Ooh, I'm so glad you guys could come!" The chirpy bee cheered. "The whole gang's looking forward to seeing you." She said, as she led the way to the Belladonna's place.

"How's XZ?" Iskandar questioned.

"Oh he's doing just fine!" Flora answered. "He's really happy to finally see the world with his own eyes." She explained as they arrived at the Belladonna mansion.

"Whoa! That's your place?!" Everyone gasped at the huge mansion that Blake used to live in.

"Yeah..." Blake sheepishly chuckled. As they arrived, Ghira, Kali, and the other Faunus were outside waiting for them.

"Hey guys!" Medusa waved to them, with Fang, who miraculously survived, wrapped around her. "Fang was looking forward to seeing you again. Isn't that right, Fang?" She cooed towards her pet, as she happily kissed him.

XZ walked up towards the nine Beacon students, with his orange coloured eyes no longer concealed by a mask. "Greetings. I never got a chance to apologize for all that we've done to you."

Iskandar waved it off. "It's all right, XZ. Now that your soul's free, you'll have enough time to atone for it. Besides, I'm in the same boat too, so maybe we can work on it... together."

The wyvern Faunus smiled at that idea. "I would enjoy that opportunity, Iskandar."

Ghira then spoke up. "All right, everyone, group up! Your mom wants to take a picture of all of you."

Everyone complied, as they all gathered closely. "You too, dear. Get in there!" Ghira was surprised, but he obeyed his wife. "Okay everybody, smile!" She said as she snapped the photo. One day, the bridge between humans and Faunus will be rebuilt. There is still a long way to go, but mankind is capable of anything.

* * *

 **At last, it is done! Blazing-Saint, I really hope you've enjoyed this story. I had a great time imagining the interactions between our OCs, dude. I'm not sure what else to say, except... Good night, everybody! Oh yes, and while you're at it, go check out Blazing-Saint's OC story about Team DMON (RWBY Heroic Demons).**


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